Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Goodwill Accounting in the United Kingdom: The Effect of International Financial Reporting Standards

The accounting treatment of goodwill has been the source of much debate and controversy amongst standard setters and financial report preparers in UK and many other countries. There have been great difficulties in the definition, measurement and subsequent accounting treatment for goodwill. Despite this, goodwill is a significant asset in many companies, whose existence and value are maintained by considerable annual expenditure. Accounting for goodwill changed in the UK in 2005 through the combined effects of the new International Accounting Standards, IFRS 3, Business Combinations, and IAS 36 Impairment of Assets. This paper critically examines, based on the accounting literature and professional standards, the change in accounting treatment for goodwill pursuant to international financial reporting standards (IFRSs) by reference to the UK accounting standards. It critically discusses and compares the former UK and new IFRS policies for goodwill accounting demonstrating the advantages of and arguments against the impairment-only approach to goodwill. It also highlights the sources of managerial discretion in testing goodwill for impairment and provides concluding remarks. Further studies are needed to examine the long-term effects of the impairment only approach to determine whether managers’ opportunistic choices or their incentives to convey their privately held information drive the recognition of goodwill impairments. The paper has implications for financial report prepares and users in highlighting conceptual issues of relevance that will arise in the application of the impairment-only approach to goodwill. It also provides a thorough review of the literature published on the accounting treatment for goodwill in the UK and provides avenues for future research.
Two aspects of waste management from the viewpoints of a waste generator and a recipient

Regulations specify the maximum amount of waste that can be stored on site by a waste generating firm. When this regulatory threshold is reached, a polluting firm must move its on site waste to an off site recipient. In this setting, we analyse two questions in a stochastic framework from the viewpoints of a waste generator and a recipient that have received scant theoretical attention in the literature. First, given that off site storage is costlier than on site storage, we derive the long-run average cost incurred by a waste generating firm that stores waste both on and off site. Second, we compute the expected amount of time until the off site recipient's waste storage facility is full.
Option Theory Does Not Refute Time Diversification

It is often recommended that asset allocation, in particular the proportion of stocks in a portfolio, should be influenced by the time for which the portfolio is expected to be held. Short investment horizons are seen as unsuitable for stocks. Long-term portfolios are regarded as suitable for high proportions of stocks. This is partly because long investment periods are seen as moderating the relative risk of stocks without distracting from the relatively high expected returns of stocks. Time diversification is one factor that ameliorates the long-run risk of stocks. Over the long term there will be periods of relatively good returns and periods of relatively poor returns; good periods and bad periods have a tendency to offset each other over long time spans. In consequence, risk increases less than proportionately with time, whereas returns have a compounding effect over time. Some academics have suggested that stock market risk increases as the investment horizon lengthens, thus refuting the concept of time diversification. That argument has been based on an apparent increase in the cost of hedging stock price risk, as indicated by theoretical put option prices, which appear to increase when the investment horizon extends. This article argues that those views are based on a restrictive use of the Black-Scholes option pricing model. When the model is used less restrictively, put option prices are found to decrease as the investment horizon lengthens when investment growth exceeds a particular rate. Risk, as measured by the cost of hedging, may decline as the holding period lengthens. Depending on expected investment growth, option theory supports time diversification rather than refuting it.
Do γδ T cells predict osteonecrosis of the jaw?

A large body of evidence has established that T cells and cytokine mediators originating from the immune system potently impact bone turnover in both physiologic and pathologic conditions. Indeed, osteoclasts derive from precursors that circulate within the immune compartment; however, new revelations continue to emerge attesting to the depth of integration of the skeletal and immune systems, and the consequences of the immuno-skeletal interface for bone metabolism. Activated T cells have long been recognized to promote osteoclast formation as a consequence of their capacity to secrete osteoclastogenic cytokines including receptor activator of NF-kB ligand (RANKL)(1–5); the RANKL-independent osteoclastogenic cytokines, secreted osteoclastogenic factor of activated T cells (SOFAT)(6) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) ligand superfamily member 14 (TNSF14, or LIGHT),(7) and the inflammatory mediator TNFα. (8) TNFα stimulates RANKL production in osteoblastic cells(9) and potently synergizes with RANKL to intensify osteoclastogenesis(8,10,11) and resorption. (12) Indeed, RANKL and/or TNFα, derived in part from activated T cells, have been implicated in bone loss and joint destruction in animal models of rheumatoid arthritis,(13) alveolar bone loss in periodontal infection,(14,15) and in humans and animal models of the archetypal osteoporotic bone disease, postmenopausal osteoporosis. (5,16,17) Interestingly, although lymphocytes are protagonists of bone loss in inflammatory states, under physiologic conditions both human(18) and rodent B cells(19,20) secrete the RANKL decoy receptor osteoprotegerin (OPG), an activity potentiated by T cell costimulation. (19) T cells are thus central to the regulation of basal bone turnover as well as protagonists of pathological bone loss.
Are Rural Schools Inferior to Urban Schools? A Multilevel Analysis of School Accountability Trends in Kentucky*

Recent research does not provide clear evidence that rural schools are inferior to urban schools. For example, one prominent study finds that students in rural schools perform less well than their urban counterparts, but other studies using the same national data set have reached divergent conclusions. The present study reassesses the issue using a time series approach to school performance. We investigate the effects of location on school-level performance and improvement indicators between 1999 and 2003 using a sample of 1,111 Kentucky public schools nested in 170 school districts. Repeated-observations HLM analysis reveals that rural schools achieve mean annual gains in performance that equal or better their urban counterparts. Furthermore, schools in some nonmetro locations perform on par with metro schools in between-school baseline score comparisons. A simple answer to the question "Are rural schools inferior? " is not feasible, however, since standards for assessing school quality are changing as a consequence of education reform initiatives at the state and national levels. Language: en
Trends in Vertical Integration in the U.S. Manufacturing Sector

Although industrial organization specialists generally list the degree of vertical integration as one of the important elements of market structure, relatively little empirical research has been devoted to measuring the extent of, and trends in, vertical integration. M. A. Adelman's pioneering work in the mid-1950s and M. Gort's widely cited research on diversification and integration are the primary exceptions of this generalization. This paper reviews the concept of vertical integration and develops a measures which is used to analyze the trend of vertical integration for the four-digit manufacturing industries between 1954-1972 and for a sample of manufacturing firms over the period of 1953-1973. We conclude by testing some hypotheses concerning determinants of interfirm and interindustry differences in the trend of vertical integration.
Direct and Indirect Mechanisms for Regulation of Fatty Acid Synthase Gene Expression by Liver X Receptors*

The nuclear receptors LXRα and LXRβ have been implicated in the control of lipogenesis and cholesterol homeostasis. Ligand activation of these receptors in vivoinduces expression of the LXR target gene SREBP-1cand increases plasma triglyceride levels. Expression of fatty acid synthase (FAS), a central enzyme in de novo lipogenesis and an established target of the SREBP-1 pathway, is also induced by LXR ligands. The effects of LXR ligands on FAS expression have been proposed to be entirely secondary to the induction of SREBP-1c. We demonstrate here that LXRs regulate FAS expression through direct interaction with the FAS promoter as well as through activation of SREBP-1c expression. Induction of FAS expression in HepG2 cells by LXR ligands is reduced, but not abolished, under conditions where SREBP processing is suppressed. Moreover, LXR ligands induce FAS expression in CHO-7 cells without altering expression of SREBP-1. We demonstrate that in addition to tandem SREBP sites, the FASpromoter contains a high affinity binding site for the LXR/RXR heterodimer that is conserved in diverse animal species including birds, rodents, and humans. The LXR and SREBP binding sites independently confer LXR responsiveness on the FASpromoter, and maximal induction requires both transcription factors. Transient elevation of plasma triglyceride levels in mice treated with a synthetic LXR agonist correlates with transient induction of hepatic FAS expression. These results indicate that the LXR signaling pathway modulates FAS expression through distinct but complementary mechanisms and suggest that the FAS gene may be a critical target in the control of lipogenesis by LXRs.
Congenital tethered spinal cord syndrome in adults.

OBJECT The management of tethered spinal cord syndrome with onset of symptomatology occurring in adulthood remains controversial, although the necessity of early surgery in the pediatric tethered cord syndrome population is well established. To ascertain the results of surgery in adult patients with this anomaly, the authors undertook a retrospective review of 34 cases. METHODS The authors studied the hospital records of 34 consecutive patients who presented in adulthood with tethered cord syndrome and conducted follow-up phone interviews with 28 of them. The population consisted of 12 men and 22 women, ranging in age from 18 to 70 years (mean 34 years). The most common presenting feature was pain, followed by weakness and incontinence. All patients underwent surgery. The most common operative findings were tight filum terminale, split cord malformation, and lipomyelomeningocele, paralleling those observed in pediatric studies. Long-term surgical results and patient outcome ratings were encouraging. After a mean clinical follow-up period of 4 years, significant improvement occurred in 22 of 27 patients presenting with pain, 13 of 27 patients with motor or sensory dysfunction, and 11 of 18 patients with bowel and bladder disturbance. In addition, telephone interviews were obtained after a period of 8.6 years. Twenty-two (79%) of 28 patients called the operation a long-term success; 21 (75%) of 28 patients believed that they had significant postoperative improvement (and not just stabilization) in pain and/or neurological function. Surgical complications were generally minor. Nineteen (86%) of 22 employed patients returned to work after surgery. Two (33%) of six patients who were not employed before surgery worked full time postoperatively. Only two of the 28 patients interviewed had received Workers' Compensation benefits; both of these had good outcomes and returned to work. CONCLUSIONS Tethered spinal cord syndrome in adults is an uncommon entity that can become symptomatic. Although surgery in adults involves greater risk of neurological injury than in children, it is a low-risk procedure with encouraging results. Because neurological deficits are generally irreversible, early surgery is recommended.
Antibiotic administration alters the community structure of the gastrointestinal microbiota

We recently demonstrated that antibiotic administration has a reproducible effect on the community structure of the indigenous gastrointestinal microbiota of mice. In this addendum we report on additional experimentation using the antibiotic vancomycin. In accord with our previous findings, vancomycin administration results in consistent alteration of the microbiota of the cecal contents and the cecal mucosa. These alterations are largely reversed by a three-week period of recovery without antibiotics. In contrast to our previous results using other antibiotics, the alterations in community structure associated with vancomycin occured without a significant decrease in the overall bacterial biomass. These results indicate that different antibiotics have specific effects on the gut microbiota. This points the way towards targeted, therapeutic alteration of the gut bacterial community as a whole.
Multinational Enterprises and Local Contexts: The Opportunities and Challenges of Multiple Embeddedness

Some scholars have argued that globalization will reduce the importance of local contexts. We argue instead that despite the increased frequency and intensity of interactions across local contexts, they continue to retain their distinctive differences. MNEs face growing challenges in managing the complexity of these interactions, because they must manage ‘multiple embeddedness’ across heterogeneous contexts at two levels. First, at the MNE level, they must organize their networks to exploit effectively both the differences and similarities of their multiple host locations. Second, at the subsidiary level, they must balance ‘internal’ embeddedness within the MNE network, with their ‘external’ embeddedness in the host milieu. Balancing the subsidiary's strategic role within the MNE with its local identity and its domestic linkages can sometimes represent a trade‐off. Multiple embeddedness thus creates both business opportunities and operational challenges, which are explored in this special issue.
The Acquisition of Fisher Body By General Motors*

It is commonly said that in 1926 General Motors was led to acquire its supplier of automobile bodies, Fisher Body, because Fisher Body held up General Motors. It is claimed that Fisher Body did this by locating its body plants far away from the General Motors assembly plants and by adapting inefficient methods of production, thus increasing both the cost of producing bidies and the profits of Fisher Body under its cost‐plus contract. This tale is factually incorrect. What General Motors acquired in 1926 was the 40 percent of the shares of Fisher Body that it did not already own. Furthermore, Fisher Body did not locate its plants far away from the General Motors assembly plants. It is also most implausible, for many reasons, that the Fisher brothers would have used inefficient methods of production. There is no evidence that a holdup occurred.
Risks for the Long Run and the Real Exchange Rate

We propose an equilibrium model that can explain a wide range of international finance puzzles, including the high correlation of international stock markets, despite the lack of correlation of fundamentals. We conduct an empirical analysis of our model, which combines cross-country-correlated long-run risk with Epstein and Zin preferences, using U.S. and U.K. data, and show that it successfully reconciles international prices and quantities, thereby solving the international equity premium puzzle. These results provide evidence suggesting a link between common long-run growth perspectives and exchange rate movements.
Prehospital hypotension as a valid indicator of trauma team activation.

BACKGROUND Criteria for trauma team activation are continually being evaluated to ensure proper utilization of resources. We examined the impact of prehospital (PH) hypotension (systolic blood pressure < or = 90) on outcome (operative intervention and mortality) and its usefulness as an indicator for trauma team activation. METHODS A database was created by using the trauma registry for all nonburned, injured patients from July of 1993 through October of 1998 at our Level I trauma center. RESULTS Of 6,976 patients (83% blunt injury) in the database, 4,437 had a PH blood pressure recorded. Documented PH hypotension was present in 791 patients. Hypotension persisted in the emergency department (ED) in 299 patients, but 193 of them showed minimal or no signs of life on arrival. Four hundred ninety-two patients had PH hypotension but normal ED systolic blood pressure, and 130 patients developed ED hypotension after normal PH systolic blood pressure. Nearly half of the patients with hypotension were taken from the ED directly to the operating room primarily for hemorrhage control procedures. The early and late mortality rates of patients with PH and ED hypotension were 12% and 32%, respectively. Other PH interventions had minimal effect on mortality in the hypotensive patient. CONCLUSION Prehospital hypotension remains a valid indicator for trauma team activation. Even though most of the non-DOA patients (492 of 598) were stable on arrival to the ED, nearly 50% required operative intervention, and an additional 25% required intensive care unit admission. The trauma team should be activated and involved with these patients early.
Where does knowledge management add value

This survey of senior managers at 25 international organizations tackles the key question: “Where does knowledge management add value? ” The findings indicate that only a very limited number of organizations have a mechanism to track the return on investment in knowledge‐based competencies or related intangible assets. The majority were not able to determine the business value of their investment in this area. Most respondents agreed though that they had lost business opportunities as a result of poor knowledge practice. The results of this survey have led to the requirements of a conceptual model for the assessment of the return on investment in core knowledge‐based competencies.
Sources of concentration and turbulence in evolutionary environments : simulations of learning and selection

This paper updates previous work on an evolutionary model of industrial competition and offers a link between formal and empirical studies of the relationship between technological change and industrial competition. It argues, using a simple formal representation of technological learning and market selection, it is possible to explain some of the variety of findings in the literature on industrial competition and technological change. The model shows that technological opportunities and technological entry-barriers play an important role in shaping patterns of industrial competition. Using repeated simulations, the model demonstrates that there is a non-linear relationship between market selection, technological learning and industrial dynamics. The analysis suggests that market concentration is largely dependent on the cumulative effects of past successes and random events, but market turbulence is dependent on the nature of technology. The paper explores some of the implications for modelling and empirical research from this simulation exercise.
Determination of Electrophysiologically Moderate and Severe Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: Ultrasonographic Measurement of Median Nerve at the Wrist

Objective To establish the cutoff value of cross-sectional area (CSA) of the median nerve at the wrist, for determination of electrophysiologically moderate and severe carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). Methods The prospective study was conducted among patients suspected of having CTS. A total of 106 patients (185 symptomatic wrists) received nerve conduction study (NCS) and ultrasonography. To establish a cutoff value, various diagnostic properties were calculated across a range of the CSA. Results A mean±standard deviation of CSA of the median nerve of normal and mild, moderate and severe CTS was 9.4±2.1, 12.0±2.7, 13.8±4.7, and 15.4±4.1 mm2, respectively. The positive relationship between CTS severities and CSA was observed (rs=0.56). A 14 mm2 CSA had sufficient power to rule in moderate and severe CTS, with a specificity of 91.4% and sensitivity of 42.3%. In addition, it showed a post-test probability (positive predictive value) of 86.3% as against a pre-test probability of 56.2%. Conclusion Patients who had ≥14 mm2 of median nerve CSA had very high probability of moderate to severe CTS.
Employee Empowerment

Employee empowerment is an all-inclusive management philosophy that gives line employees the express authority to make decisions on the spot to resolve guest problems and complaints. Empowerment starts with the general manager's approach to operation and then is spread downward into the ranks. It can be highly structured or flexible. Hoteliers who have given their employees authority have found that the overall level of monetary adjustments declines. Establishing an empowerment program is a step-by-step process that includes informational meetings, training sessions, and follow-up diagnostic meetings. The results of an empowerment program can be measured in terms of guest satisfaction, employee satisfaction, and a management assessment that includes the effect on the bottom line.
Price and Expenditure Elasticities for Fresh Fruits in an Urban Food Desert

This study addresses the knowledge gap concerning the demand for fresh fruit in an urban food desert, where healthy foods are scarce by definition. Using register data from a non-profit greengrocer in Detroit—one of America’s largest and most severe food deserts—expenditure and price elasticities of fresh fruits are estimated. The results show that, if urban food desert consumers are given access to normally priced produce of acceptable quality, they will purchase it. Expenditure was found to play a major role in determining fruit demand. The food desert consumers were also found to be more price responsive than the average US consumer. The policy implications are clear: introducing neighbourhood stores providing access to good quality produce at competitive prices could be an important component of increasing fruit consumption.
Growth factor delivery for bone tissue repair: an update

Growth factors (GFs) are endogenous proteins capable of acting on cell-surface receptors and directing cellular activities involved in the regeneration of new bone tissue. The specific actions and long-term effects of GFs on bone-forming cells have resulted in exploration of their potential for clinical bone repair. The concerted efforts have led to the recent approval of two GFs, bone morphogenetic protein-2 and osteogenic protein-1, for clinical bone repair, and human parathryroid hormone (1-34) for augmentation of systemic bone mass. This review provides a selective summary of recent (2001 – 2004) attempts for GF delivery in bone tissue regeneration. First, a summary of non-human primate studies involving local regeneration and repair is provided, with special emphasis on the range of biomaterials used for GF delivery. Next, efforts to administer GFs for systemic augmentation of bone tissue are summarised. Finally, an alternative means of GF delivery, namely the delivery of genes coding for osteogenic proteins, rather than the delivery of the proteins, is summarised from rodent models. To conclude, future avenues of research considered promising to enhance the clinical application of GFs are discussed.