Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Emerging Market Risk and Sovereign Credit Ratings

In principle, the sovereign credit rating industry could help mitigate the congestion externalities common to world capital markets that arise from the failure of market participants to internalise the social cost of external borrowings. This would require that modifications in ratings on government bonds convey new information to market participants, with changes in credit ratings leading to changes in country risk premia. Using panel data analysis and event studies this paper presents econometric evidence that changes in credit rating have a significant impact on international financial markets. In line with earlier studies, our event study finds a highly significant announcement effect when emerging-market sovereign bonds are put on review with negative outlook. Our findings imply that the sovereign rating industry has the potential to help dampen excessive private capital inflows into the emerging markets with negative rating announcements . En principe, l’existence d’agences d’evaluation financiere (the sovereign credit rating industry) pourrait contribuer a limiter les externalites dues a l’afflux de capitaux etrangers et communes a tous les marches des capitaux du fait de l’incapacite des acteurs du marche a internaliser le cout social des emprunts exterieurs. Toute nouvelle cotation des obligations d’Etat devrait transmettre de nouvelles informations aux intervenants sur le marche et les changements dans les evaluations financieres devraient se repercuter sur l’evolution du risque pays. Ce document technique repose sur une analyse en donnees de panel et sur des etudes de cas ; il ressort de l’analyse econometrique que les changements dans les cotations ont des repercussions importantes sur les marches financiers internationaux. Notre analyse, qui s’inscrit dans le prolongement des travaux precedents, met en evidence un effet d’annonce tres significatif quand les perspectives d’evolution des obligations d’Etat sur .
Determinants of e-government services adoption in developing countries: a field survey and a case study

The rapid growth of investment in public service delivery through e-government has drawn attention to research on this area. However, both governments and academic researchers recognise the problem of low-level adoption of e-government services among citizens; the common problem in both developed and developing countries. E-government adoption, unlike most of IT adoption by employees in private-sector organizations, is voluntary and occurs often in turbulent social-political environments.Therefore, the problem needs to be addressed comprehensively from technological, social, political, and cultural perspectives. However, e-government adoption research currently lacks a comprehensive conceptual framework for explaining citizen adoption of e-government services. To fill this gap, this study extends the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) (Davis et al., 1989) by adding a set of social, political, and cultural constructs that are derived from different research literatures: government trustworthiness, perceived public value e-government programs, and national culture dimensions. The extended model is then tested using multiple research methods: a large-scale, multi-site questionnaire survey of 335 Jordanian citizens, and case study interviews with e-government officials. Structural equation modelling and regressions analysis results indicate that citizen attitude towards using e-government services is the most significant determinant of citizen intention to use e-government services. Moreover, citizen attitude, in turn, is jointly determined by citizen belief: perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use of an e-government service. These results provide new evidence for considering the attitude construct to study citizen adoption of e-government services which is voluntary in nature. Importantly, the results also suggest the importance of perceived public value as a significant determinant of the citizen’s belief. Furthermore, the results show strong evidence of a positive relationship between trustworthiness and citizen belief. Research limitations and future directions as well as managerial implications are also discussed.
Immunoglobulin G4–related sclerosing disease of the paranasal sinus

Immunoglobulin G4 (IgG4)–related sclerosing disease is a systemic disease characterized by extensive IgG4‐positive plasma cells and T‐lymphocyte infiltration of various organs. We present a case of a 69‐year‐old man with maxillary sinus IgG4 sclerosing disease, with orbital invasion treated with rituximab and dexamethasone pulse therapy. Surgery was used as well to debulk the disease and to obtain tissue for diagnosis.
Effect of exogenous and endogenous angiotensin II on intrarenal distribution of glomerular filtration rate in rats

Different changes in glomerular filtration rates (GFR) in deep and superficial glomeruli have been suggested to influence renal NaCl excretion and concentrating ability. Angiotensin II (AngII) has been implicated in such changes, but the experimental evidence has been conflicting, probably because of the methodological limitation of just one ‘snapshot’ measurement of local GFR per kidney. We have therefore studied the effect of AngII and AT1‐receptor blockade on glomerular filtration in outer, middle and inner cortex (OC, MC and IC, respectively) in pentobarbitone‐anaesthetised rats using the aprotinin (Ap) method, providing control and experimental measurements in the same kidney. Glomerular filtration rate per gram cortical tissue was measured based on ‘free’ glomerular filtration of Ap followed by complete tubular uptake and a 20 min sojourn in the proximal tubular cells before breakdown and incipient return to the plasma.125I‐labelled Ap was injected i.v. to determine control Ap clearance, followed after 13 min by injection of AngII or the A1 type AngII receptor blocker losartan and 2 min thereafter by 131I‐labelled Ap to determine clearance in the experimental period. Tracer activity in frequent blood samples and in tissue samples allowed calculation of GFR in the two periods. Mean GFR control values were: 1.13 ml min−1 in whole kidney and 1.44, 1.27 and 0.76 ml min−1 per gram cortical tissue in OC, MC and IC, respectively. The most sensitive and comprehensive measure of altered GFR distribution is the ratio between the relative filtration change in inner versus that in outer cortex, F= (ICE/ICC)/(OCE/OCC), where subscripts E and C stand for experimental and control, respectively. F values greater than 1.00 directly indicate and quantify a relatively greater increase of filtration rate in inner than in outer cortex. We found in salt‐replete rats that at practically unchanged total GFR, intravenous and intra‐arterial infusion of AngII increased F to 1.07 and 1.04 (P < 0.05) whereas losartan reduced F to 0.99. After pretreatment with the inhibitor of nitric oxide production L‐NAME, losartan increased total GFR by 8 % and F fell to 0.95 (P < 0.05). In salt‐depleted rats losartan reduced F to 0.95 (P < 0.05) at unchanged total GFR. All IC/OC changes induced by losartan were significantly different from that obtained by AngII infusions. We conclude that deep nephrons have higher postglomerular AngII tone and also higher AngII sensitivity than superficial nephrons. The better preserved GFR in deep cortex during AngII action may contribute towards maintaining the renal concentrating ability by providing NaCl for reabsorption by the ascending limb of the loop of Henle.
Action's place in the venture creation process

This study examined the effect that venture creation action has on the outcomes of nascent entrepreneurship. A conceptual model was developed which proposes action as a fundamental mechanism in venture creation. Thus, action should rightly be considered as a means which transmits the effects of venture resource endowments on to venture creation outcomes. This conceptual model was empirically supported in a random sample of nascent ventures. Ventures with higher levels of human or social capital were found to be more active in venture creation. In turn, more active venture attempts were more likely to achieve improved venture creation outcomes. Further, human and social capital, on their own, exhibit little direct influence on the venture outcomes achieved. These findings confirm action's central place in the venture creation process.
Barriers to Career Advancement of Women in Indian it Industry – A Conceptual Framework

The IT industry has completely changed the economic scenario of India. It has become an important source of employment, especially for women. Women, today comprise a significant portion of Indian IT industry but their representation at top level managerial positions is not in proportion to their entry in the industry. They are mostly concentrated at the middle and lower level managerial positions. This article examines the literature on career advancement and attempts to explore the barriers of women's progress in management. The literature survey is supported by in-depth interviews of 15 women IT professionals. Gender stereotyping, work culture, absence of mentors and role models, work-family conflicts and absence of girls' informal networks emerge as major themes that explain the slow growth of Indian women IT professionals to the top echelons of management.
Electronic Intermediation and Two-Sided Markets: What Happens when Sellers and Buyers can Switch?

In this paper, we define electronic platforms as two-sided markets in which both sides of the market can easily switch. To account for this specificity, we consider two platforms in a duopoly through which sellers and buyers can match during two successive sessions. Between the two sessions, some sellers become buyers and vice-versa. We show that plateforms’ equilibrium prices can be written as the sum of two terms. The first one is the equilibrium price without mobility. The second one depends on the expected utility get by each type of agents from the possible switching of its own group (if he himself moves) and from the immobility of the opposite group (if he himself does not move). We also demonstrate that platforms capture global mobility as well as the difference between sellers’ and buyers’ mobility rates to extract profit. Research area: industrial organization, two-sided markets JEL Codes: L11, L13, L86
Fetoprotectivity of the flavanolignan compound siliphos against ethanol‐induced toxicity

Of the three flavanolignans that are found in silymarin (Silybum marianum [L.] Gaertn.), silybin is thought to be the primary therapeutic constituent. To test the capacity of silybin to protect the rat fetus from toxic effects of maternally ingested EtOH we did the following: Adult female rats were assigned to one of four groups; EtOH, EtOH/silybin, pair‐fed control, and chow fed control. Silybin was orally administered as Siliphos®, which is one part silybin to two parts phosphatidylcholine. All groups except the chow‐fed control were maintained on a liquid diet throughout pregnancy. On day 21 of pregnancy the rats were killed and the fetuses removed. Gamma glutamyl transpeptidase (GGTP) activity and glutathione (GSH) levels were determined for liver and brain tissue for both the fetuses and the dams. Maternal and fetal GGTP activity in the EtOH rats was significantly higher than that of pair‐fed controls, whereas the GGTP activity observed in the Siliphos®/EtOH rats was not elevated. Fetal mortality rates in the EtOH rats significantly exceeded those of all three other groups. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Latency Analysis of 3G Network Components

Latency in 3G wireless cellular networks is relatively high by design. Hence, optimizing latency will be the key task for improving quality of experience in future mobile networks. This work is a precise dissection of the delay contributions of each element in an operational HSPA cellular network, both in uplink and downlink. The deployed methodology is active probing combined with time-synchronized sensing nodes. The latter enable the tracing of packets on every interfaces along the data-path in a 3G network. Our results show that the major delays are introduced at the user terminal side. Interestingly, each network component shows a higher processing time for data in downlink than in uplink. Further, we assess latency increases carried by the use of legacy network equipment. For reproducibility of the results we provide models for the delay of each HSPA network component. Our findings enable (i) to estimate latencies in existing networks for simulations and network planning and, (ii) to identify reasonable starting points for research on latency reduction in future networks.
Morphometric Methods for Studying the Prefrontal Cortex in Suicide Victims and Psychiatric Patients

Abstract Neurochemical studies demonstrate altered numbers of monoaminergic receptors in the prefrontal cortex in suicide and depression victims, implicating dysfunction of the prefrontal cortex in the neuropathology of suicide and psychiatric disorders. Neuroimaging studies in vivo have revealed an altered pattern of cortical metabolism and reductions in frontal lobe volume in patients with schizophrenia (SCZ) or depression. However, the precise morphopathology underlying these abnormalities and thier reelevance to suicide are unknown. Our recent three‐dimensional cell counting of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex from 16 postmortem SCZ brains (10 suicide completers) revealed cellular changes (increased neuronal density, and reduced laminar width and neuronal size) that may be associated with neuroimaging observations. Evaluation of the same morphometric parameters in the prefrontal cortex in seven bipolar brains (three committed suicide) revealed similarities (decreased cortical and laminar thickness) and differences (unchanged overall neuronal density and laminar densities) between morphopathology of SCZ and bipolar disorder. In another population of suicide victims with major depression (nonpsychotic), further morphopathological differences from SCZ and similarities to bipolar disorder were observed in the prefrontal cortex. From these data we can conclude that the morphopathology observed in brain tissue from suicide victims appears to vary based on psychiatric symptomatology. In order to confirm this hypothesis and to establish the specificity of morphometric findings in relation to psychiatric disorders and suicide, additional studies are warranted in nonsuicide subjects with SCZ, major depression, or bipolar disorder.
Multimode Fiber Raman Lasers Directly Pumped by Laser Diodes

Raman fiber lasers (RFLs) are usually based on single-mode fibers core-pumped by high-power rare-earth-doped fiber lasers with single transverse mode output that leads to a rather complicated design of RFLs. One of interesting possibilities to simplify the RFL design is its direct pumping by cheap and reliable high-power multimode laser diodes (LDs). It is attractive to use standard graded-index multimode passive fibers characterized by very high quality and low cost due to their wide use in telecom. In this case, one can directly couple the multimode radiation of high-power LDs with moderate brightness into the core of multimode graded-index fiber with much higher efficiency than into the core of single-mode fiber. Using commercially available multimode LDs with operating wavelengths of 915–940 nm, it is possible to obtain high-power high-beam-quality Raman lasing in wavelength range of 950–1000 nm, which is problematic for rare-earth-doped fiber lasers. Here, we review the results obtained in this direction and report on the demonstration of all-fiber LD-pumped CW Raman laser based on the graded-index fiber. A joint action of Raman clean-up effect and mode-selection properties of special fiber Bragg gratings inscribed in the central part of fiber core, results in high-efficiency conversion of multimode (M2∼26) pump at 915 nm into a high-quality output beam at 954 nm. Fibers with core diameter of 62.5, 85, and 100 μm are compared. With core enlargement, the conversion efficiency increases sufficiently (from 47% to 84%) at the expense of slight beam-quality parameter reduction (M2 = 1.3–3). The generated spectrum remains to be rather narrow (<0.4 nm) at output power >60 W.
Expression of Hypothalamic KiSS-1 System and Rescue of Defective Gonadotropic Responses by Kisspeptin in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Male Rats

Hypogonadotropism is a common feature of uncontrolled diabetes, for which the ultimate mechanism remains to be elucidated. Kisspeptins, ligands of G protein–coupled receptor 54 (GPR54) encoded by the KiSS-1 gene, have recently emerged as major gatekeepers of the gonadotropic axis. Alteration in the hypothalamic KiSS-1 system has been reported in adverse metabolic conditions linked to suppressed gonadotropins, such as undernutrition. However, its potential contribution to defective gonadotropin secretion in diabetes has not been evaluated. We report herein analyses of luteinizing hormone (LH) responses to kisspeptin and hypothalamic expression of the KiSS-1 gene in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic male rats. In addition, functional studies involving kisspeptin replacement or continuous administration of leptin and insulin to diabetic male rats are presented. Kisspeptin administration evoked robust LH and testosterone bursts and enhanced postgonadectomy LH concentrations, despite prevailing attenuation of gonadotropic axis in diabetic animals. In addition, hypothalamic KiSS-1 mRNA levels were unambiguously decreased in diabetic male rats, and the postorchidectomy rise in KiSS-1 mRNA was severely blunted. Repeated administration of kisspeptin to diabetic rats evoked persistent LH and testosterone responses and partially rescued prostate and testis weights. In addition, central infusion of leptin, but not insulin, was sufficient to normalize hypothalamic KiSS-1 mRNA levels, as well as LH and testosterone concentrations. In summary, we provide evidence for altered expression of the hypothalamic KiSS-1 system in a model of uncontrolled diabetes. This observation, together with the ability of exogenous kisspeptin to rescue defective LH responses in diabetic rats, unravel the physiopathological implication, and potential therapeutic intervention, of the KiSS-1 system in altered gonadotropin secretion of type 1 diabetes.
Internal Client Satisfaction and Adding Value in the Hospitality Industry: The Case of Tunisia

In order to have a better attitude toward customers and to be able to deliver a better service, companies have to ensure that their internal customers are satisfied (Heskett et al., 1994). In this research, the focus is on identifying the relation between internal marketing and value creation in hotels, in order to have a better understanding of internal customers’ motivations in value creation. Internal customer satisfaction is validated as a vector of social stability. To identify the explicit and implicit expectations of internal customers, a survey method based on the cognitive approach is adopted. Our work shows that the performance of the company is closely related to internal customers’ satisfaction and is can have a big impact on adding value in the hospitality industry.
Q-Absorbance Ratio Spectrophotometric Method for the Simultaneous Estimation of Rifampicin and Piperine in their Combined Capsule Dosage

The present manuscript describe simple, sensitive, rapid, accurate, precise and economical Q-absorbance ratio method for the simultaneous determination of Rifampicin and Piperine in combined capsule dosage form. Absorbance ratio method uses the ratio of absorbances at two selected wavelengths, one which is an isoabsorptive point and other being the λ-max of one of the two components. Rifampicin and Piperine show an isoabsorptive point at 387 nm in methanol. The second wavelength used is 337 nm, which is the λ-max of Piperine in methanol. The linearity was obtained in the concentration range of 5-40 μg/ml for Rifampicin and 2-20 μg/ml for Piperine. The concentrations of the drugs were determined by using ratio of absorbances at isoabsorptive point and at the λ-max of Rifampicin. The method was successfully applied to pharmaceutical dosage form because no interference from the capsule excipients was found. The results of analysis have been validated statistically and by recovery studies.
Extending Full Text Search for Legal Document Collections Using Word Embeddings

Traditional full text search allows fast search for exact matches. However, full text search is not optimal to deal with synonyms or semantically related terms and phrases. In this paper we explore a novel method that provides the ability to ﬁnd not only exact matches, but also semantically similar parts for arbitrary length search queries. We achieve this without the application of ontologies, but base our approach on Word Embeddings. Recently, Word Embeddings have been applied successfully for many natural language processing tasks. We argue that our method is well suited for legal document collections and examine its applicability for two different use cases: We conduct a case study on a stand-alone law, in particular the EU Data Protection Directive 94/46/EC (EU-DPD) in order to extract obligations. Secondly, from a collection of publicly available templates for German rental contracts we retrieve similar provisions.
The Role of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in the Self-Perceptions of Children with Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties

The present study compared the teacher ratings and self-perceptions of two groups of children with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties: a) Those with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and b) those with average or below average levels of hyperactivity and attention. Results showed that the ADHD group was rated more poorly by teachers in academic, social, and behavioural domains. This group also inflated their competency ratings in these domains relative to teacher report more than the comparison group.
Analysis of FISH-Painted Chromosomes in Individuals Living near the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site

Abstract Stephan, G. , Pressl, S. , Koshpessova, G. and Gusev, B. I. Analysis of FISH-Painted Chromosomes in Individuals Living near the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site. Radiat. Res. 155, 794–798 (2001). The Semipalatinsk nuclear test site (STS) is located in the Republic of Kazakhstan. A total of 498 nuclear weapons tests were conducted in this area between 1949 and 1989. The radiation exposure to people who lived close to the STS resulted mostly from the above-ground explosions. Blood samples for chromosome analysis were obtained from 10 subjects who were born before the first explosion in August 1949 and lived continuously in the village of Dolon. The individual calculated effective doses were about 3 Sv. Chromosomes 2, 4 and 8 were painted by means of the FISH technique. In total, 22,240 cells were analyzed. The mean frequency of translocations in the subjects who were irradiated during childhood (2.4/1000 cells) did not differ from the control value (3.1 translocations/1000 cells). It is assumed, therefore, that the calculated physical dose is too high. A significantly increased level of complex cells was determined, however, and this was assumed to have been induced in circulating lymphocytes. The reason for this may be the incorporation of radionuclides from fallout which were not distributed homogeneously within the body, but accumulated instead in tissues that were well supplied with peripheral blood.