Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
INFLUENCE OF MACROECONOMIC VARIABLES ON FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE MARKET IN KENYA

The real estate industry plays a very important role in the economy. The industry has increasingly attracted the attention of investors in the recent past. Kenya’s real estate industry is expected to remain strong in coming years. This has not been the case and thus this study sought to establish the effects of macroeconomic variables on the financial performance of commercial real estate market in Kenya given they are key in the growth of the country’s economy. The study was carried out through a descriptive research design. The measure of performance of the real estate companies was measured against the macroeconomic variables such as economic growth, inflation, interest rate, and exchange rate. The study found that GDP growth and performance of commercial real estate market in Kenya had a positive and significant relationship. The study also found that inflation and performance of commercial real estate market in Kenya had a negative and significant relationship. The study further found that interest rates had insignificant influence on the performance of commercial real estate market in Kenya. Also, the study revealed that exchange rates had positive and significant influence on the performance of commercial real estate market in Kenya. The study concluded that inflation rate has a substantial influence on the financial performance of the real estate market. Inflation reduces the value of money and hence does not favor the performance of real estate market. Also, the study concluded that exchange rate has significant influence on the financial performance of real estate market and that a unit increase in GDP growth will lead to an increase in economic growth which will stimulate investment in real estate market, hence there is positive correlation between GDP growth and the performance of real estate market. The study recommended that government should aim at controlling inflation rate in Kenya by making it generally constant at a low level. Key Word: Macro Economy, Economic Growth, Inflation, Interest Rate, Exchange Rate CITATION: Keillah, M. , & Oluoch, O. (2018). Influence of macroeconomic variables on financial performance of commercial real estate market in Kenya. The Strategic Journal of Business & Change Management, 5(4), 2170 - 2179.
Russia’s centralized authoritarianism in the disguise of democratic federalism: Evidence from the September 2017 sub-national elections

While formally a federation that vests significant powers in the sub-national bodies of government and leaves it for its federal units and municipalities to decide who will govern them by conducting elections, the Russian Federation is effectively a centralized authoritarian state. This paper uses evidence from the September 2017 sub-national elections in Russia to examine the role of formal political institutions in sustaining the country’s political regime. The analysis shows that the political domination of the pro-government party over the regional political assemblies is sustained by a complex combination of party regulations and electoral rules. In particular, gubernatorial elections are organized and conducted in a way that ensures the victories of the incumbent governors who are effectively appointed by the president of Russia.
KIBS and innovation in machine tool manufacturers. Evidence from the Basque Country

The machine tool industry, insofar as it has a classical industrial component and a more modern one incorporating transversal technologies of innovation is representative of the innovative tension as a source of competitiveness for advanced manufacturing. KIBS can play an important role in promoting innovation in manufacturers since they support clients in their innovation process. Our results show that a relationship with KIBS provides firms with innovation outcomes and promote their internationalisation processes. However, there are differences owing to the size of the firm. Basically, the small manufacturers have relationship with KIBS to compensate and fill the gap their knowledge and skills, while larger ones reinforce their know-how, by carrying it out internally. The comparative analysis is carried out based on sequential methodological triangulation as there is just a small sample of 52 machine tool manufacturers.
Connexin-43 prevents hematopoietic stem cell senescence through transfer of reactive oxygen species to bone marrow stromal cells

Hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) aging has become a concern in chemotherapy of older patients. Humoral and paracrine signals from the bone marrow (BM) hematopoietic microenvironment (HM) control HSC activity during regenerative hematopoiesis. Connexin-43 (Cx43), a connexin constituent of gap junctions (GJs) is expressed in HSCs, down-regulated during differentiation, and postulated to be a self-renewal gene. Our studies, however, reveal that hematopoietic-specific Cx43 deficiency does not result in significant long-term competitive repopulation deficiency. Instead, hematopoietic Cx43 (H-Cx43) deficiency delays hematopoietic recovery after myeloablation with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). 5-FU-treated H-Cx43-deficient HSC and progenitors (HSC/P) cells display decreased survival and fail to enter the cell cycle to proliferate. Cell cycle quiescence is associated with down-regulation of cyclin D1, up-regulation of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors, p21cip1. and p16INK4a, and Forkhead transcriptional factor 1 (Foxo1), and activation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), indicating that H-Cx43-deficient HSCs are prone to senescence. The mechanism of increased senescence in H-Cx43-deficient HSC/P cells depends on their inability to transfer reactive oxygen species (ROS) to the HM, leading to accumulation of ROS within HSCs. In vivo antioxidant administration prevents the defective hematopoietic regeneration, as well as exogenous expression of Cx43 in HSC/P cells. Furthermore, ROS transfer from HSC/P cells to BM stromal cells is also rescued by reexpression of Cx43 in HSC/P. Finally, the deficiency of Cx43 in the HM phenocopies the hematopoietic defect in vivo. These results indicate that Cx43 exerts a protective role and regulates the HSC/P ROS content through ROS transfer to the HM, resulting in HSC protection during stress hematopoietic regeneration.
ATTITUDE OF SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS TOWARDS INCLUSIVE EDUCATION IN RELATION TO THEIR MANAGEMENT AND MARITAL STATUS

Education is a critical input for developing the manpower and a very signicant factor for achieving rapid economic and technological progress. The Right to Education Act implies that every child has a right to get education in order to achieve fundamentals of survival, development, health and nutrition, access to information, to acquire knowledge and to improve the quality of his/her life. The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) is the New initiative of the Govt of India for achieving the objective of "Education for all". As part of education for all mission the focus is also laid on the inclusive education. The objective of the present investigation is to study the inuence of management and marital status on the attitude of secondary school teachers towards inclusive education. A ve point Attitude scale developed by Raghava, R (2014) was used for the present study. A sample of 120 secondary school teachers representing all categories of secondary schools in Chittoor District were included in the study.The data was analysed using't' test. The results revealed that Management and marital status have inuenced the attitude of secondary school teachers towards inclusive education.
The Effects of Cultural Values on Bank Failures around the World

Abstract We conduct the first broad-based international study on bank-level failures covering 92 countries over 2000–2014, investigating national cultural variables as failure determinants. We find individualism and masculinity are positively associated with bank failure, but they operate through different channels. Managers in individualist countries assume more portfolio risk, while governments in masculine countries allow banks to operate with less liquidity and less often bail out troubled institutions. Findings are robust to accounting for endogeneity, different techniques and measures, and additional controls. Results have implications for prudential policies, including regulation, supervision, and bailout strategies, that may partially mitigate some negative effects of culture.
Adult myeloid leukaemia, geology, and domestic exposure to radon and gamma radiation: a case control study in central Italy.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether indoor randon or gamma radiation might play a part in myeloid leukaemia as suggested by studies based on crude geographical or geological data for exposure assessment. METHODS: For six months randon and gamma radiation was measured with solid state nuclear track detectors and thermoluminescent dosimeters in dwellings of 44 adult male cases of acute myeloid leukaemia and 211 controls (all subjects deceased). Conditional logistic regression ORs (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were estimated for quartiles of radon and gamma radiation and for municipality and dwelling characteristics. RESULTS: The risk of leukaemia was associated with an increasing urbanisation index (p value for trend = 0.008). An increased OR was found among those living in more modern houses (OR 3.0, 95% CI 1.4 to 6.6). Confirming the findings of a previous study in the same area, geological features bore a positive association with myeloid leukemia, even by adjusting for level of urbanisation. Contrary to expectations from the previous study, however, no association appeared between myeloid leukaemia and radon and gamma radiation; for the highest quartiles of exposure, ORs were 0.56 (95% CI 0.2 to 1.4) and 0.52 (95% CI 0.2 to 1.4), respectively. Considering only subjects who had lived > or = 20 years in the monitored home and adjusting for urbanisation, there was still no effect of exposure to radiation. CONCLUSIONS: In view of the limited numbers, the results do not in general refute a possible risk of myeloid leukaemia from exposure to indoor radon or gamma radiation, but decrease the credibility of such a relation in the area studied and also of other studies suggesting an effect without monitoring indoor radiation. Some other fairly strong determinants have appeared--that is, level of urbanisation and living in modern houses--that might need further consideration.
Sensibilidad de los salarios al desempleo regional en Colombia: nuevas estimaciones de la curva de salarios

Se utiliza informacion de la Encuesta Nacional de Hogares (1984-2000), la Encuesta Continua de Hogares (2001-2006) y la Gran Encuesta Integrada de Hogares (2006-2009) para estimar la curva de salarios (Blanchflower y Oswald, 1994), y contrastar la hipotesis nula de que los salarios reales de los trabajadores del sector privado son rigidos.
Gender diversity in compensation committees and CEO pay: evidence from China

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to address whether gender diversity on compensation committees ensures objective determination of CEOs’ compensation. Design/methodology/approach The authors use a sample of companies listed in China from 2006 to 2015. The authors use pooled ordinary least square regression as the baseline methodology, and two-stage least square regression and propensity score matching to control for endogeneity. Findings The authors find evidence that gender-diverse compensation committees limit CEOs’ total cash compensation and strengthen the link between CEO pay and firm performance, but only independent female directors have a significant impact, indicating that the monitoring effect outweighs the executive effect. Moreover, compensation committees with a critical mass of female directors have more impact on CEOs’ total pay and the link between CEO pay and firm performance than do committees with a single female director. Finally, gender-diverse compensation committees are more effective in setting CEOs’ compensation in state-controlled firms, where agency issues are more severe. Practical implications Female directors can improve firm-level governance by monitoring management actions, such as setting CEOs’ compensation. The study contributes to the debate on gender diversity in the boardroom, finding a positive economic effect. The study sheds light on China’s diversity practices at the director level and provides empirical guidance to China’s regulatory bodies. Originality/value The authors extend earlier studies by providing the first empirical evidence that gender-diverse compensation committees strengthen the link between CEO pay and firm performance; that independent female directors are more effective in the monitoring role than executive female directors; that compensation committees with a critical mass of female directors are more effective in setting CEOs’ pay than are committees with a single female director; and that the influence of gender-diverse compensation committees on CEOs’ pay varies by type of ownership.
Assessment of the impact of the international trade in agricultural products on the EU economic growth

Although international trade is an incontestable driver of economic development, scientific literature still lacks the studies to assess the impact of the international trade in agricultural products on the EU economic growth. The agricultural sector is treated as specific in comparison to other economic sectors as the EU subsidisation policies causes distorted competition in both local and global agricultural markets. The main purpose of this article is to assess the impact of the international trade in agricultural products on the economic growth of EU28. The results of the correlation and regression analyses have revealed that the international trade in agricultural products (in particular, section I and III products) contributes only insignificant part, to the economic growth of EU28 through the following indicators: GDP in market prices, self-employment, employment in the agricultural sector, labour force rate, subsidies and other transfers. The results have also disclosed that while analysing the impact of the international trade in agricultural products on economic growth, there is no necessity to research export and import volumes in separate as agricultural export and import show nearly the same (only with insignificant value differences) determinants of economic growth promotion. Another important conclusion is that the international trade in agricultural products mainly comprises the trade in live animals and animal products (meat and edible meat offal, fish and crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates, dairy produce, birds’ eggs, natural honey, edible products of animal origin, not elsewhere specified or included, and products of animal origin, not elsewhere specified or included) as well as animal or vegetable fats and oils and their cleavage products, prepared edible fats, and animal or vegetable waxes.
Airway Remodeling: A Comparison Between Fatal and Nonfatal Asthma

Background: Airway remodeling has been recently one of the main goals in asthma research because it has been implicated to influence airway behavior and evolution of asthma; hence, important in long‐term followup of asthmatic patients. Methods: Airways of fatal asthma (n = 3), non‐fatal asthma (n = 3) and control cases (n = 4) were studied using morphometry and immunohistochemical and H&E staining. Results: The basement membrane was thicker in the cartilaginous and membranous airways of fatal and non‐fatal asthma groups compared to the control group (p < 0.05). Smooth muscle shortening was greater in airways of fatal asthma cases while submucosal gland area and mucus plug occupying ratio were greater in fatal asthma large airways compared to the two other groups (p < 0.01). Increased intact and degranulated mast cells were observed in smooth muscle and in submucosal gland of fatal asthma airways (p < 0.01) and were associated with greater degree of smooth muscle shortening and larger submucosal gland area, respectively. Eosinophil and EG2 + cell infiltrations were greatest in lamina propria of airways of fatal asthma than in non‐fatal and control cases (p < 0.01), but were not associated with any airway structural change. Conclusion: Increased infiltration of eosinophils in the lamina propria and mast cells in smooth muscle and submucosal glands may have a role in airway remodeling of fatal asthma airways but needs further investigation. Moreover, mast cells in cartilaginous airways may participate in the regulation of smooth muscle tone and mucous gland secretion and hyperplasia.
Investor Sentiment, Stock Markets and Macroeconomic Fluctuation: An Empirical Evidence from US

Recent literature theoretically assumes that exuberant Investors’ sentiments increase the price of capital, signals strong fundamentals of the real side of the economy and drive asymmetric nonlinear asset prices. This study offers empirical insights into the interaction between investor sentiment, financial market, and macroeconomic fluctuation. The objective is achieved by Yamamoto causality test, generalized impulse response function, and variance decomposition, which confirms robust results in multiple perspectives. We employ two indicators for investor sentiment, three stock market indices and seven macroeconomic variables covering the period January 1992 to September 2015. Our results suggest strong evidence on the negative causality from Baker and Wurgler (2006)’s sentiment measures to NASDAQ, and show short run bi-directional influence between VIX and financial market. Vis-à-vis to the spillover effect from financial market to real economic activities, our findings further indicate an observable impact on financial markets on production indicators, such as industrial production and capacity utilization. Overall, our study empirically supports the conceptual work of Benhabib et al. (2016) and validates the impact of sentiment shocks on the real sector and business prices over the business cycle.
Distinct structural changes in wild-type and amyloidogenic chicken cystatin caused by disruption of C95–C115 disulfide bond

Human cystatin C (HCC) amyloid angiopathy (HCCAA) is characterized by tissue deposition of amyloid fibrils in blood vessels, which can lead to recurrent hemorrhagic stroke. Wild-type HCC forms part of the amyloid deposits in brain arteries of elderly people with amyloid angiopathy. A point mutation causing a glutamine to a leucine substitution at residue 68 in the HCC polypeptide chain greatly increases the amyloidogenic propensity of HCC and causes a more severe cerebral hemorrhage and premature death in young adults. In this study, we used molecular dynamics simulations to assess the importance of disulfide bridge formation upon the stability of chicken cystatin and how this may influence the propensity for amyloid formation. We found that disulfide bridge formation between Cys95 and Cys115 in human cystatin played a critical role in overall protein stability. Importantly, Cys95–Cys115 influenced cystatin structure in regions of the protein that play key roles in the protein-folding transitions that occur, which enable amyloid fibril formation. We hypothesized that correct disulfide bridge formation is a critical step in stabilizing cystatin toward its native conformation. Disrupting Cys95–Cys115 disulfide bridge formation within cystatin appears to significantly enhance the amyloidogenic properties of this protein. In addition, by combining in silico studies with our previous experimental results on Eps1, a molecular chaperone of the PDI family, we proposed that age-related HCCAA, may possess a different pathogenic mechanism compared with its amyloidogenic counterpart, the early onset amyloidogenic cystatin-related CAA.
Neuromuscular and Cardiovascular Adaptations in Response to High-Intensity Interval Power Training

Abstract Romero-Arenas, S, Ruiz, R, Vera-Ibáñez, A, Colomer-Poveda, D, Guadalupe-Grau, A, and Márquez, G. Neuromuscular and cardiovascular adaptations in response to high-intensity interval power training. J Strength Cond Res 32(1): 130–138, 2018—The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of a high-intensity power training (HIPT) program, and to compare the effects of HIPT to traditional power training (TPT) on the aerobic and power performance. For this purpose, 29 healthy men (23.1 ± 2.7 years) were recruited and randomly distributed into 3 different groups. One group performed TPT (n = 10), the second group performed power training organized as a circuit (HIPT; n = 10), and the third group served as control group (CG; n = 9). Training consisted of weightlifting thrice per week for 6 weeks. The TPT subjects performed 3 to 5 sets of each exercises with interset rest of 90 seconds, and HIPT subjects executed the training in a short circuit (15 seconds of rest between exercises). To know the effects in aerobic performance, maximal aerobic speed (MAS) was measured. To identify the effects on power performance, subjects performed a Wingate test, a countermovement jump (CMJ) test, and a power-load curve in bench press. The main results showed that after both power training protocols, subjects increased significantly (p ⩽ 0.05) the power production during the Wingate Test, the height and power reached during the CMJ test, and the peak power produced during the power-load curve. However, only the HIPT group improved significantly MAS (p ⩽ 0.05). There were no changes in any variables in CG. Hence, our results suggest that HIPT may be as effective as TPT for improving power performance in young adults. In addition, only HIPT elicited improvements in MAS.
An Assessment of the 5-mA 60-Hz Contact Current Safety Level

This paper is an investigation into the research basis of the 5-mA electrical safety standard. Although Dalziel's let-go current research is generally considered to be the basis of this standard, the 5-mA level actually predates Dalziel's investigations. Nevertheless, in spite of some limitations in experimental design, Dalziel's let-go current experimental series is basically sound and well supports the 5-mA level as an occupational electrical safety standard. However, its applicability to the general population is questionable. Dalziel's data were developed from generally young, healthy subjects, and the standard's applicability to vulnerable populations such as children, the elderly, and the infirm is not known.
Role of Platelet Electron Microscopy in the Diagnosis of Platelet Disorders

The electron microscope has proved to be a useful tool to study and understand the biology of platelets and to classify many platelet disorders. After a technical overview, this article reviews syndromes originating from platelet organelle, cytoskeleton, and membrane defects for which electron microscopy plays a role in the diagnostic process, such as gray platelet syndrome, Paris-Trousseau syndrome, storage pool diseases, MYH9-related thrombocytopenias, or Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome. Particular focus is given to the ultrastructural aspect of platelets in these disorders.