Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Does it pay to be good? An analysis of vice and virtue stock performance in the Eurozone

This paper provides a performance analysis of vice and virtue stocks in the Eurozone for the period between January 2005 and December 2014. In order to do so, a vice index consisting of listed Eurozone companies operating in selected vice industries is created and subsequently matched with a corresponding virtue index, which for the purpose of this analysis is represented by the DJSI Eurozone. The tools used to conduct the performance evaluation are the Sharpe ratio, the capital asset pricing model and the Carhart four-factor model. The analysis indicates no consistent outperformance or underperformance of one or the other index, yet the realised performance over the whole period favours the vice index. Consequently, it can be concluded that from a statistical point of view, there is no substantial advantage or disadvantage in being “good” when investing into stocks, as such it is a matter of investor preference, with the note that historical returns do favour vice stocks.
Board Characteristics and Firm Performance: Evidence from Nigerian Quoted Companies

The broad objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between board characteristics and corporate performance. Time series data from 166 firms quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange market from 2005 to 2012 in the Food and Beverages sector was used for the study. We adopt the log of profit after tax as the measure of performance. The study found a positive and significant relationship between independent directors on audit committee and firm performance in Nigeria. The study suggests the need for a competent and sizeable board and a cut down on the waste of resources on too frequent board meetings as the findings reveals that there is a negative relationship between board diligence and performance. The study also gave emphasis on the need to strengthen the independence of audit committee to continuously achieve the control mechanism and oversight functions. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015. v4n1p283
Reaction with fructose detoxifies fumonisin B1 while stimulating liver-associated natural killer cell activity in rats

Fumonisin B1 (FB1) was reacted with fructose in an attempt to detoxify this mycotoxin. Fischer 344/N rats were initiated with diethylnitrosamine (15 mg/kg body weight) and then fed 69.3 μmol FB1/kg diet or 69.3 μmol FB1 reacted with fructose (FB1−fructose)/kg diet for 4 weeks. In comparison with the rats fed basal diet or FB1−fructose, the FB1-fed rats had significantly increased plasma cholesterol (P < 0.01), plasma alanine aminotransferase activity (P < 0.05), and endogenous hepatic prostaglandin production (P < 0.05). Placental glutathione S-transferase-positive and γ-glutamyl transferase-positive altered hepatic foci occurred only in the FB1-fed rats. Liver-associated natural killer (NK) cell activity was significantly decreased in the FB1-fed rats and increased in the group fed FB1-fructose, as compared with the basal group (P < 0.03). Therefore, modifying FB1 with fructose seems to prevent FB1-induced hepatotoxicity and promotion of hepatocarcinogenesis while stimulating liver-associated NK cell act.
A low proportion of rare bacterial taxa responds to abiotic changes compared with dominant taxa

Summary In many studies, rare bacterial taxa have been found to increase in response to environmental changes. These changes have been proposed to contribute to the insurance of ecosystem functions. However, it has not been systematically tested if rare taxa are more likely to increase in abundance than dominant taxa. Here, we study whether rare soil bacterial taxa are more likely to respond to environmental disturbances and if rare taxa are more opportunistic than dominant taxa. To test this, we applied nine different disturbance treatments to a grassland soil and observed changes in bacterial community composition over 7 days. While 12% of the dominant taxa changed in abundance, only 1% of the rare taxa showed any effect. Rare taxa increased in response to a single disturbance treatment only, while dominant taxa responded to up to five treatments. We conclude that rare taxa are not more likely to contribute to community dynamics after disturbances than dominant taxa. Nevertheless, as rare taxa outnumber abundant taxa with here 230 taxa that changed significantly, the chance is high that some of these rare taxa might act as ecologically important keystone taxa. Therefore, rare and abundant taxa might both contribute to ecosystem insurance.
Retina Intravitreal Ciliary Neurotrophic Factor Transiently Improves Cone-Mediated Function in a CNGB 3 / Mouse Model of Achromatopsia

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States Department of Biotechnology and Applied Clinical Science, University of L’Aquila, L’Aquila, Italy Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, United States
Influence of physical protectors with different filters on the initial development of Peltophorum dubium (Spreng.) Taub seedlings

The use of physical protectors has been considered as an efficient technique for tillage farming of different species, mainly native ones. Based on the importance of the species, Peltophorum dubium for revegetation of degraded areas, this study evaluated the emergence, survival and initial development of P. dubium seedlings under the influence of physical protectors with different filters. Thus, the following treatments were adopted: absence of physical protector (APP), transparent physical protector (TPP), transparent physical protector + blue cellophane (BPP) and transparent physical protector + red cellophane (RPP). The evaluated characteristics were: emergence velocity index (EVI), seedling survival and emergence percentage, plant height, leaf area and root collar diameter. All of these physical protectors increased the mean values of EVI and survival. In conclusion, the emergence speed and initial development of P. dubium (Spreng.) seedlings grown in the interior of physical protectors, independent on the filters, presented positive results. The reduction on the light intensity interferes positively in the initial growth of these plants. Key words: Native species, reforestation, seedlings.
Demographic profile and perceived INSET needs of secondary Mathematics teachers in Limpopo province

The findings of a study on the demographic profile and perceived INSET needs of secondary Mathematics teachers in Limpopo province are described. The survey instrument employed was the Science Teacher Inventory of Needs for Limpopo province (STIN-LP). Most teachers who responded to this survey teach at a rural or township school, are between 20 and 40 years old, and have between four and ten years experience in teaching Mathematics. Standard 10 is the highest academic qualification of half of the teachers, with 67% of teachers having an M+3 as their highest professional qualification. Teachers indicated interest in all the 38 INSET need items included in the STIN-LP with motivating learners to learn Mathematics, using audio-visual equipment and applying mathematics to daily life of learners among the most important need. The least support was indicated, among others, for needs related to the history of mathematics, improving content knowledge, how mathematics is used in society, and teaching large classes. Poor communication of INSET activities was reported to be the greatest barrier to INSET participation. Implications of the findings are discussed. Keywords : in-service education and training (INSET); mathematics teachers; needs assessment; Limpopo (Northern Province); surveys; teacher characteristics
A complete characterization of connected Lie groups with the Approximation Property

We give a complete characterization of connected Lie groups with the Approximation Property for groups (AP). To this end, we introduce a strengthening of property (T), that we call property (T*), which is a natural obstruction to the AP. In order to define property (T*), we first prove that for every locally compact group G, there exists a unique left invariant mean on the space of completely bounded Fourier multipliers of G. A locally compact group G is said to have property (T*) if this mean is a weak* continuous functional. After proving that the groups SL(3,R), Sp(2,R), and the universal covering of Sp(2,R) have property (T*), we address the question which connected Lie groups have the AP. A technical problem that arises when considering this question from the point of view of the AP is that the semisimple part of the global Levi decomposition of a connected Lie group need not be closed. Because of an important permanence property of property (T*), this problem vanishes. It follows that a connected Lie group has the AP if and only if all simple factors in the semisimple part of its Levi decomposition have real rank 0 or 1. Finally, we are able to establish property (T*) for all connected simple higher rank Lie groups with finite center.
PATIENT PERCEPTION REGARDING PREOPERATIVE INFORMATION TO ANXIETY TOWARDS SURGERY

OBJECTIVE: Surgeries are seen as stressors that activate preoperative fear. Preparing the patients prior to surgery through preoperative instruction develop crucial to anxiety level. The objective of study is to evaluate the perception of patients regarding anxiety prior to surgery. METHODS: A total of 273 patients attending the outpatient department of Hospital were taken in the study. All the patients were aged 20-60 years. The anxiety was measured by means of different questions like fear of surgery, pain due to surgery, postoperative complication, preoperative information of surgery etc. Student’s t-test, one-way ANOVA was performed to obtain the mean values of anxiety using SPSS 16.0 for Windows. RESULTS: It was found that all of the patients received preoperative information about the surgery to be done and most of them obtained information from doctors (27.6%), hospital management staff (24.3%), and nurses (22.5%). Fear of surgery (18.6%) and pain (17.4%) are most common factors among study participants. Significant results of anxiety was found with educational level and age(p=0.000). CONCLUSION: All the patients got information prior to the surgery and main source of information were doctors, hospital management staff and nurses. Mostly patients were anxious of surgery and postoperative pain. Still, health professionals should plan to deliver appropriate information to help patients against this fear.
Chlamydomonas schloesseri sp. nov. (Chlamydophyceae, Chlorophyta) revealed by morphology, autolysin cross experiments, and multiple gene analyses

Chlamydomonas in the traditional sense is one of the largest green algal genera, comprising more than 500 described species. However, since the designation of the model organism C. reinhardtii as conserved type of this genus in 2007, only two species remained in Chlamydomonas. Investigations of three new strains isolated from soil samples, which were collected near Lake Nakuru (Kenya), demonstrated that the isolates represent a new species of Chlamydomonas. Phylogenetic analyses of nuclear SSU and ITS rDNA and plastid-coding rbcL sequences have clearly revealed that this species is closely related to C. reinhardtii and C. incerta. These results were confirmed by cross experiments of sporangium wall autolysins (VLE). All species belonged to the VLE group 1 sensu Schlösser. The comparison of the ITS-1 and ITS-2 secondary structures showed several compensatory base changes among the three species. In addition, the rbcL amino acid composition was also species-specific. The genus Chlamydomonas was phylogenetically closely related to the colonial families Goniaceae, Tetrabaenaceae and Volvocaceae. Chlamydomonas debaryana (VLE group 2) formed a separate clade among these colonial families of the Volvocales, a species of which autolysin dissolved the sporangium walls of the members of VLE group 1, suggesting its close relationship to Chlamydomonas. As consequence of our results, we propose Chlamydomonas schloesseri sp. nov. for the new Kenyan isolates. We also propose a new combination of C. debaryana to the newly erected genus Edaphochlamys.
Key Role of the CD56lowCD16low Natural Killer Cell Subset in the Recognition and Killing of Multiple Myeloma Cells

Natural Killer (NK) cells play a pivotal role in the immunosurveillance of Multiple Myeloma (MM), but it is still undefined whether the NK cell functional properties underlying their protective activity against MM are confined to distinct NK cell populations. Interestingly, herein we report that the CD56lowCD16low NK cell subset displayed higher cytolytic activity compared to the other NK cell subsets (i.e., CD56highCD16+/−, CD56lowCD16high) against MM cells and its activity was impaired in MM patients. Decreased DNAM-1 expression levels were observed on the CD56lowCD16low NK cells during MM progression. Evaluating NK cell subset frequency after autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, we found that CD56lowCD16low NK cells recovered earlier after transplantation. Overall, our data denote a key role of CD56lowCD16low subpopulation in the killing of MM cells and suggest that the reconstitution of CD56lowCD16low subpopulation after HSCT could be a useful approach of adoptive immunotherapy in the treatment of relapsed/refractory MM patients.
Food purchase for natural disaster relief: the case of Parmigiano-Reggiano sales in the aftermath of the 2012 earthquake waves

The May 2012 earthquake waves shaking the North-East part of Italy have caused 26 deaths and diffuse economic damage in the traditional production area of Parmigiano-Reggiano PDO, including several dairies warehouses where the cheese is produced and aged. It has been estimated that losses to the Parmigiano-Reggiano system exceeded 150 millions Euro. In the broad mobilization to help the stricken people, the agri-food system played a primary role, giving rise to the sales of “Parmigiano-Reggiano damaged by earthquake” (PR-T). This paper aims to investigate the main determinants of PR-T purchasing using the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) as a conceptual framework. A preliminary focus group and a survey on 200 consumers were performed for this purpose; data were collected with face-to-face interviews in stores and markets where the PR-T has been sold. The relative importance of attitude, descriptive norms and perceived behavioural control (PBC) in influencing the intention to purchase PR-T and the behaviour itself where investigated. Other concepts were added to the analysis, such as formal and informal trust, moral attitude, PDO perception, sense of belonging to the region, and other socio-economic variables. The revised TPB model predictors accounted for 70% of the variance of intentions to purchase PR-T in the future and 32% of the variance of behaviour. PBC, trust in formal communication sources and PDO quality warranty are the main predictors of intentions. Behaviour is positively affected by descriptive norms, sense of belonging, age and intentions, and negatively determined by food scare, past behaviour and educational level. These empirical findings provide evidence of the solidarity aspects of collective purchases of Parmigiano-Reggiano in the aftermath of the 2012 earthquake waves, as well as the importance of increasing people’s capability and trust to effectively reach the goal of facing dreadful food scares.
The Role of Aid for Trade and Foreign Direct Investment in Poverty Reduction: A Panel Data Analysis of 91 Developing Countries

THE ROLE OF AID FOR TRADE AND FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT IN POVERTY REDUCTION: A PANEL DATA ANALYSIS OF 91 DEVELOPING COUNTRIES OLIVIA DUROWAH 2017 Aid for trade (AFT) focuses on helping developing nations to overcome supplyside constraints in trade to maximize trade benefits and use trade to achieve economic growth and poverty reduction. Since its inception at the 2005 Hong Kong ministerial conference, AFT has become viewed as a crucial tool for helping developing countries and donors continue to shift their attention to AFT programs, even in times of prolonged global financial crisis. AFT programs ultimately seeks to achieve growth poverty reduction. Thus, this study focuses on assessing the role of AFT and foreign direct investment in poverty reduction using the headcount ratio (1.90 dollars a day) to measure poverty. Specifically, the impact of AFT and FDI is analyzed across different income groups of countries and between agricultural-dependent economies and non-agricultural dependent-economies. This thesis also evaluates the impact of the different components of AFT on poverty as well as assessed how each individual AFT component relates to FDI and lastly, examines whether the effectiveness of AFT is conditioned on the policies and institutional qualities of the aid-receiving country. Using data for 91 developing countries and controlling for other variables that may affect poverty, we employ fixed effects and random effects models for the analysis. The empirical analyses indicate that AFT flows have a robust and positive effect on poverty reduction but the effect differs across countries by income groups and the
Networking, Resource Acquisition, and the Performance of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: An Empirical Study of Three Major Cities in China

Previously, resource-based view (RBV) research has focused on the characteristics of resources, paying less attention to the relationship between resource acquisition and the acquisition method. In addition, entrepreneurship research has focused a lot on the firm’s entrepreneurial network to explain performance. This network is critical not only to resource acquisition but also to overall firm performance. The results of a study of small and medium-sized firms in three major Chinese cities support these notions. The results differ when dividing the sample into two groups (young vs. old).
Understory Community Assembly Following Wildfire in Boreal Forests: Shift From Stochasticity to Competitive Exclusion and Environmental Filtering

Understory vegetation accounts for the majority of plant species diversity and serves as a driver of overstory succession and nutrient cycling in boreal forest ecosystems. However, investigations of the underlying assembly processes of understory vegetation associated with stand development following a wildfire disturbance are rare, particularly in Eurasian boreal forests. In this study, we measured the phylogenetic and functional diversity and trait dispersions of understory communities and tested how these patterns changed with stand age in the Great Xing'an Mountains of Northeastern China. Contrary to our expectation, we found that understory functional traits were phylogenetically convergent. We found that random patterns of phylogenetic, functional, and trait dispersions were dominant for most of our surveyed plots, indicating that stochastic processes may play a crucial role in the determination of understory community assembly. Yet, there was an evidence that understory community assembly was also determined by competitive exclusion and environmental filtering to a certain degree, which was demonstrated by the observed clustered phylogenetic and functional patterns in some plots. Our results showed that phylogenetic diversity significantly decreased, while functional diversity increased with stand age. The observed shift trends in phylogenetic and functional patterns between random to clustering along with stand age, which suggested that understory community assembly shifted from stochasticity to competitive exclusion and environmental filtering. Our study presented a difference to community assembly and species coexistence theories insisted solely on deterministic processes. These findings indicated that Eurasian boreal understory communities may be primarily regulated by stochastic processes, providing complementary evidence that stochastic processes are crucial in the determination of community assembly both in tropical and boreal forests.
Factors Affecting Debt to Equity Mixture in Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman

The key objective of present study analysis is to investigate the impact of various indicators on the value of debt to equity mixture (leverage) of the selected firms in the region of Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman during the time of 2011 to 2016. The key method being implemented in the present study is based on the robust multiple regression equations. The time of the study is from 2011 to 2016 with the factors like current assets, operating fixed assets, the net book value of fixed assets, admin expenses, earnings before interest and tax, return on assets, gross profit and finally the age of the firm. Findings of the study indicate that in the overall sample of the study key factors like of operating fixed assets along with net book value of the fixed assets has their significant contribution to predicting the value of financial leverage in the business. As per the originality/value of the study, it is found that in the selected region, this is a very first attempt to check the impact of selected indicators on the value of leverage over time. However, the limitation of the study includes the limited sample size which can be covered in the coming time for the better generalization of the results and suitable decisions. Besides, the study is contributing to existing literature while providing in-depth analysis of selected firms in three regions.
Lone mothers’ time allocations: Choices and satisfactions

This paper uses the 2006 Australian Time Use Survey to examine the allocation of time to personal care, employment‑related activities, home duties, leisure and child care of lone mothers, in comparison to the time allocations of single women, women in childless couples and partnered mothers. Both primary and secondary time allocations are considered. The satisfactions that women report concerning their current time allocations are also analysed. The time use and satisfaction data are described using both tabulations and multiple regression methods. Lone mothers are shown to have similar time allocations as the other types of households, even though they have different financial and time resources. This raises the concern that lone mothers' desire or need to maintain such time allocations may lead to task overload. Consistent with this, lone mothers are found to be less satisfied with the way they allocate their time than single women and partnered mothers. The tensions associated with time use among lone mothers discussed in the literature are real, and important.