Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Growth in international new ventures: facilitating and redundant components beyond start-up

The purpose of the paper is to identify facilitating and redundant components of core competence development during the growth of international new ventures (INVs). Through a longitudinal empirical study comparing three cases based on a large number of interviews, we describe how individual competences essential for the start-up firm (entrepreneurial, market and network) over three phases (small, youth and mature) eventually become redundant or transform into institutionalised routines. An INV built on technology competence needs to combine with market competences, preferably in parallel, for ideal market development. To expand further, the entrepreneurial competence ultimately should be reduced or omitted. To boost expansion, explicate visions and policies should be added to maintain the entrepreneurial spirit and legacy, and to guide employees.
Spectral characteristics of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers with external optical feedback

The measurement of the effects of external optical feedback on the spectra of VCSELs (vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers) is reported. It is surprising that VCSELs have a sensitivity to optical feedback comparable to that of conventional edge-emitting lasers such as DFBs despite their significantly different structures. This is because the extremely short cavity length of VCSELs negates the effects of their highly reflective output mirrors. As in edge-emitting lasers, VCSELs exhibit well-defined regimes of feedback effects in their spectra. Since optical isolators cannot be easily applied to VCSELs due to their array structure, these lasers may be most useful in applications which are not sensitive to the spectral qualities of the light source. <<ETX>>
Procyclicality, Bank Lending, and the Macroeconomic Implications of a Revised Basel Accord

Bank regulators are in the process of implementing revised regulatory capital standards. However, the macroeconomic effects of a revised Basel Accord are uncertain. Examining the various channels through which the revised Accord may influence economic output suggests that making the buffer stock of capital positively related to the business cycle is necessary to reduce procyclicality. This can be accomplished by bank regulators using either enhanced supervisory powers or increased financial disclosure.
Implants and sinus-inlay bone grafts in a 1-stage procedure on severely atrophied maxillae: surgical aspects of a 3-year follow-up study.

This 3-year follow-up study compares implant treatment in 39 1-stage sinus-inlay block-grafted patients (study group) with 37 patients treated without bone grafting (reference group), all of whom were edentulous in the maxilla and were treated over the same time period. The cumulative success rate (CSR) of implant stability after 3 years in the study group was 75.3% in grafted areas and 82.2% in non-grafted areas. The CSR after 3 years in the reference group was 93.1%. The mean marginal bone resorption after 3 years of loading was 1.4 mm in grafted areas and 1.6 mm in non-grafted areas in the study group and 1.1 mm in the reference group. Complications noted during the postoperative healing periods correlated significantly with implant failures later on (P < .05). Since prosthesis stability (CSR) after 3 years was 94.9% in the study group and 97.3% in the reference group, it can be concluded that 1-stage sinus-inlay block grafts can be regarded as a safe method with a predictable outcome for use on patients with severely atrophied edentulous maxillae, although increased failure rates are to be expected for implants placed in bone-grafted regions.
Choice of vascular access among incident hemodialysis patients: a decision and cost-utility analysis.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs) are widely accepted as the preferred hemodialysis vascular access type. However, supporting data have failed to consider morbidity and mortality incurred during failed creation attempts and may therefore overstate potential advantages. This study compares survival, quality-adjusted survival, and costs among incident hemodialysis patients after attempted placement of AVFs or arteriovenous grafts (AVGs). DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS Analogous Markov models were created, one each for AVF and AVG. Patients entered consideration at the time of first access creation, contemporaneous with dialysis initiation. Subsequent outcomes were determined probabilistically; transition probabilities, utilities, and costs were gathered from published sources. To ensure comparability between AVFs and AVGs, the timing and likelihood of access maturation were measured in a contemporary cohort of incident hemodialysis patients. RESULTS Mean (SD) overall survival was 39.2 (0.8) and 36.7 (1.0) months for AVFs and AVGs, respectively: difference (95% confidence interval [CI]) 2.6 (1.8, 3.3) months. Quality-adjusted survival was 36.1 (0.8) and 32.5 (0.9) quality-adjusted life months (QALMs) for AVFs and AVGs, respectively: difference (95% CI) 3.6 (2.8, 4.3) QALMs. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (95% CI) for AVFs relative to AVGs was $446 (-6023, 6994) per quality-adjusted life year saved. CONCLUSIONS AVFs are associated with greater overall and quality-adjusted survival than AVGs. Observed differences were much less pronounced than might be expected from existing literature, suggesting that prospective identification of patients at high risk for AVF maturational failure might enable improvements in health outcomes via individualization of access planning.
Inventory Investment and the Business Cycle

Inventory investment, one of the more volatile components of gross domestic product, is often considered to be a major contributor to aggregate fluctuation. A review of previous work by Blinder and Maccini (1991) on the stylized facts of inventory investment confirms that, over the business cycle, production is more volatile than sales, and inventory investment increases with sales. Contrary to conventional wisdom, however, it does not appear that inventory investment contributes substantially to fluctuations of output over the business cycle. For shorter-term fluctuations, however, inventory investment accounts for a substantial part of output volatility.
Social vulnerability to climate‐induced natural disasters: Cross‐provincial evidence from Vietnam

This paper conducts an analysis of the socioeconomic determinants of Vietnam's cross-provincial variations in natural disaster vulnerability. The purpose is twofold: (i) to capture disaggregated vulnerability variations normally obscured by national statistics, thereby providing more nuanced insights into Vietnam's vulnerability to natural disasters; and (ii) to take advantage of the fact that the overall political system and key institutional structures to a large extent are constant across Vietnam's provinces, which makes the analysis a novel addition to the many disaster studies based on cross-national variations. The paper's analysis indicates that much of Vietnam's cross-provincial variations in natural disaster fatalities and economic costs can be explained by differences in key socioeconomic factors. High provincial rates of inequality, poverty and infant mortality, for instance, appear to drive up natural disaster fatalities. Local adaptation efforts should focus as much on these broader socioeconomic dimensions as they focus on the geophysical susceptibility to natural hazards of individual areas.
Water, sanitation, hygiene and rural poverty: issues of sector monitoring and the role of aggregated indicators

Water and sanitation improvements together with hygiene (WASH) are central to health. However, progress in ensuring access to these basic services remains inadequate, particularly in the rural developing world. To remedy this appalling situation, decision-makers need reliable data on which to base planning, targeting and prioritization. However, the challenges of collecting such data and producing consistent evidence are diverse. To influence policy, data have to be easily and meaningfully interpreted. In addition, the evaluation framework needs to capture the complexity inherent in the delivery of rural services. And with limited resources, the neediest must be prioritized. In this paper we compare three different monitoring and evaluation approaches: health impact indicators, standard indicators of the World Health Organization (WHO)/United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP), and one multidimensional, WASH-focused indicator. From a policy-making perspective, the likely utility of the outcomes produced by each approach is discussed. The epidemiological study produces misleading results, which do not help draw relevant conclusions. JMP indicators provide reasonable quality basic estimates of coverage across different contexts, but are inappropriate to build up a complete picture of such context. The index approach takes into account a broader view of service level, and proves useful as a policy tool to guide action towards improved service delivery.
Climate change perceptions and responses in Scotland's ski industry

The negative impacts of climate change for the ski industry have been well documented. However, research has largely focused on key ski markets in North America and Continental Europe. The study presented in this paper addresses climate change perceptions and responses in the more marginal ski destination of Scotland. Using a qualitative, interpretivist methodology, this paper contributes through a local-scale, single-site study of a ski area where technical adaptations are not utilised and which therefore relies on business responses to climate change. Findings suggest that while local weather is perceived to be a large and unmanageable risk to the industry, and a downward trend is identified in terms of snow reliability, these risks are not perceived to be connected to the wider anthropogenic climate change discourse. Waiting for knowledge to increase before taking adaptive action appears to be the most popular business strategy; however, autonomous adaptation is taking place in the form of business diversification, which mitigates against risks including, but not limited to, climate change. This paper concludes that experiences and perceptions of climate change will be highly localised and as a result so too will adaptive behaviours. Marginal ski destinations such as Scotland will be facing a range of non-climatic impacts which will contribute to their contextual vulnerability to climate change and capacity to adapt.
Modelling credit spreads on yen Eurobonds within an equilibrium correction framework

This study develops an equilibrium correction model (ECM) of the credit spreads on quality Japanese yen Eurobonds based on the Longstaff and Schwartz (1995) continuous time, closed form solution of the arbitrage-free value on risky debt. The solution predicts testable relationships between the credit spread and several important factors involved, including the risk-free interest rate, firm asset volatility, and the firm asset return correlation with changes in the risk-free rate. In the frictionless continuous time approach a key assumption is that the markets adjust without delays to the new equilibrium. In reality, however, adjustments take time, such that the markets may be temporally out of the equilibrium. The results of this study show that unlike other findings from the USA, Japanese spreads are stationary. Accordingly, an implied equilibrium correction procedure is incorporated into the modelling process. While traditional theories of credit-spread behaviour predict that changes in the risk free interest rate and asset factors are negatively correlated with changes in credit spreads on risky bonds, it is found that the asset factor, as proxied by the change in the stock market index, has only a very limited effect, whereas the interest rate factor has the over-riding influence both in the long and short run. Furthermore, whereas an increase in asset volatility should have an increasing effect on the credit spread, it is found that the prevailing spread change volatility has a more pronounced effect. There is also evidence that changes in the term structure affects both the long run equilibrium as well as the short run changes in the spread. Furthermore, the asset return correlation with the risk free rate receives empirical support to affect the credit spread in the manner predicted by the Longstaff and Schwartz (1995) theoretical model.
Loss of Allograft Inflammatory Factor-1 Ameliorates Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis by Limiting Encephalitogenic CD4 T-Cell Expansion

Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model of human multiple sclerosis (MS), is mediated by myelinspecific autoreactive T cells that cause inflammation and demyelination in the central nervous system (CNS), with significant contributions from activated microglia and macrophages. The molecular bases for expansion and activation of these cells, plus trafficking to the CNS for peripheral cells, are not fully understood. Allograft inflammatory factor-1 (Aif-1) (also known as ionized Ca2+ binding adapter-1 [Iba-1]) is induced in leukocytes in MS and EAE; here we provide the first assessment of Aif-1 function in this setting. After myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein peptide (MOG35–55) immunization, Aif-1-deficient mice were less likely than controls to develop EAE and had less CNS leukocyte infiltration and demyelination; their spinal cords contained fewer CD4 T cells and microglia and more CD8 T cells. These mice also showed significantly less splenic CD4 T-cell expansion and activation, plus decreased proinflammatory cytokine expression. These findings identify Aif-1 as a potent molecule that promotes expansion and activation of CD4 T cells, plus elaboration of a proinflammatory cytokine milieu, in MOG35–55-induced EAE and as a potential therapeutic target in MS.
Dividends and Profits: Some Unsubtle Foreign Influences

American corporations earn a large and growing share of their profits from their foreign operations. This paper evaluates the effect of foreign earnings on dividend payments by American corporations. The results suggest that the effect may be rather dramatic: that, all other things equal, U.S. corporations pay dividends out of foreign earnings at rates that are three times higher than their payout rates from domestic earnings. Why firms do so is unclear, though this behavior may be consistent with a signaling view of dividends. There is a curious tax consequence of this high payout rate on foreign earnings: the tax system, which grants foreign tax credits to U.S. corporations for the foreign taxes they pay, may receive more revenue from taxing the dividends of U.S. shareholders than from the corporate tax on foreign earnings.
A paradox concerning ion permeation of the delayed rectifier potassium ion channel in squid giant axons.

1. The fully activated current‐voltage relation (I‐V) of the delayed rectifier potassium ion channel in squid giant axons has a non‐linear dependence upon the driving force, V‐EK, as I have previously demonstrated, where V is membrane potential and EK is the equilibrium potential for potassium ions. 2. The non‐linearity of the I‐V relation and its dependence upon external potassium ion concentration are both well described, phenomenologically, by the Goldman‐Hodgkin‐Katz (GHK) flux equation, as I have also previously demonstrated. As illustrated below, this result can be modelled using the Eyring rate theory of single‐file diffusion of ions through a channel in the low‐occupancy limit of the theory. 3. The GHK equation analysis and the low‐occupancy limit of the Eyring rate theory are both consistent with the independence principle for movement of ions through the channel, which is at odds with tracer flux ratio results from the delayed rectifier, published elsewhere. Those results suggest that the channel is multiply occupied by two, or perhaps three, ions. 4. The resolution of this paradox is provided by a triple‐binding site, multiple‐occupancy model in which only one vacancy, at most, is allowed in the channel. This model predicts current‐voltage relations which are consistent with the data (and with the phenomenological prediction of the GHK flux equation). The model is also consistent, approximately, with the tracer flux ratio results.
Prospects and Challenges of E‐Banking In Malaysia

The advent of the Internet has revolutionized the way banking is done. Realizing the importance of what is popularly known as e‐banking, in June 2000, the Central Bank of Malaysia allowed banks to conduct banking activities via the Internet. Four years later, almost all major local banks are providing e‐banking services. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of e‐banking adoption in Malaysia. It begins by analyzing the local bank websites using a model introduced by Chung and Payter (2002). The study then examines the different types of e‐banking products used by adopters before finally describing the characteristics of e‐banking adopters. Five hundred and forty two usable questionnaire responses were received to a survey, of which fifty four percent were from e‐banking adopters. Most of the adopters took advantage of the service to carry out basic activities like viewing balance inquiries, obtaining summary reports of their transactions and using savings and current account facilities. A large number of the adopters used the e‐banking services when necessary, i.e. once a month to pay utility bills and accessed the facilities either from home or the office. Many were encouraged by friends and family members to use e‐banking. The study also illustrates that there were more adopters among the younger age groups, among those with higher salaries and those holding higher positions.
The Political Economy of the Creation of Districts in Ghana

There has been a flurry of publications examining Ghana’s decentralization programme since 1988 to date. None has, however, specifically focused on the creation of districts; that is, the political and geographical division of the state into smaller jurisdictions – arguably regarded as one of the key processes of decentralization. In other words, the numerous studies do not fully explain the politics of the creation of districts, which has not only been a recurring phenomenon but also a contentious and sensitive one. This paper aims at filling this lacuna by identifying the actors and discussing their interests, benefits and the tensions arising from the creation of new districts in Ghana. The lessons learnt are also highlighted.
Institutional Determinants of Labor Reallocation in Transition

Studying the transition means analyzing the interactions between institutions and structural change, a process we still know very little about. In this paper we show that the transition process has been very different in the countries of the Former Soviet Union (FSU) and those of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) in terms of reallocation of labor from the old to the new sector, the extent of real wage decline and responsiveness of employment to output changes. We sift through the theoretical and empirical literature to find an explanation for these diverging adjustment trajectories and conclude that the difference can be explained in part by different policy models. The CEE countries adopted social policies that upheld wages at the bottom of the distribution and hence forced the unproductive old sector to restructure or collapse. The FSU countries allowed wages to free fall and hence did not force the hand of the old sector. Why these two models were adopted is the subject for political-economy research, however we speculate that it has to do with the relative appeal of joining the EU.
Does Planning Work?: Testing the Implementation of Local Environmental Planning in Florida

Abstract The lack of empirical studies measuring the efficacy of plans and degree of local plan implementation subsequent to adoption represents one of the greatest gaps in planning research. This article addresses the need to test the effectiveness of environmental planning and plan implementation by examining the spatial pattern of wetland development permits over a io-year period in Florida. Specifically, our study compares the original land use design of comprehensive plans with subsequent development activity. We identify significant clusters of permits granted for wetland development and evaluate those locations against the adopted future land use maps for all county and city jurisdictions across the state. Findings indicate that development patterns that significantly deviate from the original intent of the adopted plans tend to occur in specific locations and under certain conditions. In addition, plans containing specific environmental and plan implementation policies are correlated with a greater degree of plan implementation. Based on the results, we discuss policy implications for improving plan performance at the local level and establishing a stronger link between plan content and plan implementation.
Elimination of Intravenously Injected Endothelin‐1 from the Circulation of the Rat

Summary The rate of elimination and the fate of endothelin-1 (ET-1) from the circulating blood was studied in urethane-anesthetized rats by intravenous injection of [125I]-labeled ET-1. The vasoconstrictor activities of the iodinated ET-1 were confirmed to be similar to those of native ET-1. Following i.v. bolus injection of 30 pmol/kg of [125I]-ET-1 into the femoral vein, the total radioactivity of the right atrial blood decayed rapidly, with a half-life of 7 min. At 5 min after the injection, the administered radioactivity distributed chiefly to the parenchyma of the lungs, kidneys, and liver. The analysis of the chemical form of labeled peptides from the plasma by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) demonstrated no appreciable amount of degraded forms of [125I]-ET-1 in the blood for up to 60 min. [125I]-ET-1 was also stable for up to 60 min upon incubation in vitro with heparinized rat blood at 37$$C. Even when the same amount of labeled ET-1 was injected together with a pressor dose (1,500 pmol/kg) of cold ET-1, the half-life of the radioactivity in the bloodstream was exactly identical to that for [125I]-ET-1 alone. Nevertheless, the pressor response continued for more than 90 min after i.v. bolus injection of 1500 pmol/kg of ET-1 to the rat. These results clearly indicate that the elimination of ET-1 from circulating blood and the ET-1-induced pressor response are not in parallel, and the relatively rapid disappearance of ET-1 from the bloodstream is mostly due to the removal of the peptide by the parenchymal tissues, in the anesthetized rat. The long-lasting pressor action of ET-1 may be ascribed to our previous finding that the dissociation of ET-1 from its specific binding sites on vascular smooth muscle cells is extremely slow.