Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
ANALISIS FAKTOR-FAKTOR YANG MEMENGARUHI TINGKAT PENGUNGKAPAN LAPORAN KEUANGAN PEMERINTAH PROVINSI DI INDONESIA

This study is aimed to analyze the factors affecting the level of disclosure in the financial statements of the provincial governments in Indonesia. The subjects in this study are the Summary of Financial Statements Examination Results of Provincial Governments in Indonesia conducted by the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK). In this study, the sample included 30 provinces with a 3-year reporting period. Samples were selected using purposive sampling method. The analytical tool used is multiple regression analysis. Based on the analysis that has been done, it shows that the capital expenditure and number of population give significant positive effects on the level of disclosure in the financial statements of the provincial governments in Indonesia. Keywords: level of disclosure, level of dependence, Locally-Generated Revenue, capital expenditures, population, audit findings, government accounting.
Public Tax-Return Disclosure

We investigate the consequences of public disclosure of information from company income tax returns filed in Australia. Supporters of more disclosure argue that increased transparency will improve tax compliance, while opponents argue that it will divulge sensitive information that is, in many cases, misunderstood. Our results show that in Australia large private companies experienced some consumer backlash and, perhaps partly in anticipation, some acted to avoid disclosure. We detect a small increase (decrease) in tax payments for private (public) firms subject to disclosure suggesting differential costs of disclosure across firms. Finally, we find that investors react negatively to anticipated and actual disclosure of tax information, most likely due to anticipated policy backlash rather than consumer backlash or the revelation of negative information about cash flows. These findings are important for both managers and policy makers, as the trend towards increased tax disclosure continues to rise globally.
Research on the Relationship between Corporate Governance and Firm Performance: Empirical Evidence from Companies Listed on the Stock Exchange in Vietnam

This study examines the effect of corporate governance on firm performance measure as ROA and Tobin’s Q of listed companies in Vietnam. Data samples were collected from 189 companies for Fiscal years 2011 – 2014. Fixed-effects and Random-effects models were estimated to evaluate the impact of corporate governance on firm performance. The study found evidence that some characteristics of corporate governance such as CEO duality, board size and women on board have a negative influence on firm performance as measured by ROA and Tobin’s Q. By contrast, independent audit committee members, ownership of governance, ownership of foreign institutional investors and ownership of domestic institutional investors have a positive impact on these two performance measures of firms. The study also revealed a positive impact of ownership of managers on firm performance measured by ROA, however, in the case of Tobin’s Q there is no significant correlation.
The Use of Enteric Contrast Media for Diagnostic CT, MRI, and Ultrasound in Infants and Children: A Practical Approach.

OBJECTIVE Enteric contrast media are commonly administered for diagnostic cross-sectional imaging studies in the pediatric population. The purpose of this manuscript is to review the use of enteric contrast media for CT, MRI, and ultrasound in infants, children, and adolescents and to share our experiences at a large tertiary care pediatric teaching hospital. CONCLUSION The use of enteric contrast material for diagnostic imaging in infants and children continues to evolve with advances in imaging technology and available enteric contrast media. Many principles of enteric contrast use in pediatric imaging are similar to those in adult imaging, but important differences must be kept in mind when imaging the gastrointestinal tract in infants and children, and practical ways to optimize the imaging examination and the patient experience should be employed where possible.
Connectivity Analysis of Somatosensory Evoked Potentials in Patients with Major Depression

Summary Objectives: Connectivity analysis was used to investigate the processing of intracutaneous stimuli and directed interactions within the pain matrix in patients with major depression (MD) and healthy controls (HCs), by means of frequency selective generalized partial directed coherence (gPDC). Methods: Eighteen patientswithMDand 18 HCs underwent stimulations consisting of moderately painful intracutaneous electrical stimuli to the right and left middle fingers. Connectivity analysis was based on nine selected EEG electrodes. Results: Stimulus-induced changes of the gPDC in a pre/post stimulus comparison and changes in the connectivity pattern in the post-stimulus condition were found. We could identify network changes correlating to the side stimulated, as well as differences between HCs and MD patients. Conclusions: These data support the suggestion that pain processing in response to noxious stimulation in MD patients is different compared to healthy controls, suggesting aberrant functional connectivity. Generalized partial directed coherence is shown to be a promising method to detect changes in connectivity in both within- and between-subject designs.
Earnings Management Dynamics in Portuguese Listed Firms

This study examines earnings management dynamics in Portuguese listed firms. It provides evidence consistent with firms using accrual and real management as substitutes. Besides, the use of each strategy appears to depend on its relative cost. This investigation also points to the existence of a trade-off between derivatives use and the magnitude of earnings management. Furthermore, the impact of both earnings management and derivatives use on effective tax rates is examined. The results indicate that, if the tax function is convex, firms can reduce tax expenses by hedging with derivatives. This research also explores how earnings management practices are related with a set of market and financial incentives, while controlling for earnings management constraints. Meeting dividend thresholds seems to be the most relevant incentive for firms to manage earnings upward.
Performance Appraisal and Employee's Motivation: A Comparative Analysis of Telecom Industry of Pakistan

Performance appraisal is an important tool for effective management, but little has been explored to see its effect on attitudinal outcomes and employee’s development in Pakistan. This investigation is an attempt to fill this gap. In developing countries like Pakistan technology intensive organizations are focusing on human resource management and Telecom sector is one of these sectors. This empirical study explored the connection between what employees perceive about performance appraisal and what impact this perception has on their work motivation in Telecom sector of Pakistan. Using responses collected from 120 respondents, date is analyzed by applying regression, ANOVA & AHP. We found significant relationships between variables. Perceived fairness is found as critically important dimension of performance appraisal for employee motivation in Telecom sector of Pakistan. The results can be a source of policy formation and its implications for improving the process of performance appraisal in this sector of Pakistan as well as in other developing countries.
Hibernation and Daily Torpor in Two Pygmy Possums (Cercartetus Spp., Marsupialia)

The physiology of torpor was investigated in the pygmy possums Cercartetus concinnus (18 g) and C. lepidus (12 g). Body temperatures (Tb) during torpor remained within 1 C of air temperature (Ta) and showed a minimum of about 5 C in both species. Oxygen consumption (V̇o2) during torpor was reduced to about 0.05 liters O₂/kg h, which amounts to only 1% of the rate of normothermic animals. Below Ta of 5 C, the metabolism during torpor increased with a further decrease in Ta, while Tb was regulated at about 5 C. Rates of arousal were faster than predicted for endothermic vertebrates of comparable size. Duration of torpor bouts ranged from less than a day to a week, with the longest bouts occurring at Ta < 10 C. The physiological characteristics of torpor in these two marsupial species are qualitatively and quantitatively similar to those of placental hibernators.
Motivations of Facebook, You Tube and Similar Web Sites Users

The ever increasing popularity -particularly among young usersof personal photo/video sharing websites like youtube and facebook deserves to be studied by many aspects. The aim of this study was to explore the motives of the users of this personal photo/video sharing websites. The data was obtained through a survey on a randomly selected sample of seven hundred and twenty eight (728) students of The Selcuk University. The results revealed 7 motives that have effects on the use of photo/video sharing websites like facebook, youtube etc. These motivations are, in order of importance: narcissism and self expression, media drenching and performance, passing time, information seeking, personal status, relationship maintenance, and entertainment. The weekly usage frequency of facebook and similar websites by the subjects has been found as the main variable determining the varied importance levels attached to these 7 motivators. In relation to gender, male subjects attached more importance to narcissism and self expression motivators while females preferred information seeking and relationship maintenance.
OCL: Online Customer Loyalty in the Service Industries: Scale Development and Validation

ABSTRACT In today's competitive electronic environment, online customer loyalty (OCL) represents a high-profile concept that has strategic importance for many service companies. The present research offers a conceptualization of OCL, develops a reliable scientific instrument that captures its various dimensions, carefully validates the OCL scale in different contexts and in a structural equation model, and proposes how the OCL scale can be used as a strategic tool for business managers aiming to improve their customer retention strategies.
Deaths among Wild Birds during Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N8) Virus Outbreak, the Netherlands

During autumn–winter 2016–2017, highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N8) viruses caused mass die-offs among wild birds in the Netherlands. Among the ≈13,600 birds reported dead, most were tufted ducks (Aythya fuligula) and Eurasian wigeons (Anas penelope). Recurrence of avian influenza outbreaks might alter wild bird population dynamics.
Distinct replication-independent and -dependent phases of histone gene expression during the Physarum cell cycle

During the S phase of the cell cycle, histone gene expression and DNA replication are tightly coupled. In mitotically synchronous plasmodia of the myxomycete Physarum polycephalum, which has no G1 phase, histone mRNA synthesis begins in mid-G2 phase. Although histone gene transcription is activated in the absence of significant DNA synthesis, our data demonstrate that histone gene expression became tightly coupled to DNA replication once the S phase began. There was a transition from the replication-independent phase to the replication-dependent phase of histone gene expression. During the first phase, histone mRNA synthesis appears to be under direct cell cycle control; it was not coupled to DNA replication. This allowed a pool of histone mRNA to accumulate in late G2 phase, in anticipation of future demand. The second phase began at the end of mitosis, when the S phase began, and expression became homeostatically coupled to DNA replication. This homeostatic control required continuing protein synthesis, since cycloheximide uncoupled transcription from DNA synthesis. Nuclear run-on assays suggest that in P. polycephalum this coupling occurs at the level of transcription. While histone gene transcription appears to be directly switched on in mid-G2 phase and off at the end of the S phase by cell cycle regulators, only during the S phase was the level of transcription balanced with the rate of DNA synthesis.
Cooperation of C1q Receptors and Integrins in C1q-Mediated Endothelial Cell Adhesion and Spreading1

The interaction of C1q with endothelial cells elicits a multiplicity of biologic responses. Although these responses are presumed to be mediated by the interaction of C1q with endothelial cell surface proteins, the identity of the participants is not known. In this study we examined the roles of two C1q binding proteins, cC1q-R/calreticulin and gC1q-R/p33, in C1q-mediated adhesion and spreading of human dermal microvascular endothelial cells (HDMVEC). When HDMVEC were cultured in microtiter plate wells coated with concentrations of C1q ranging from 0 to 50 μg/ml, a specific and dose-dependent adhesion and spreading was observed. The extent of adhesion and spreading was similar to the adhesion seen on collagen-coated wells. Spreading (68 ± 12%) and to a moderate extent adhesion (47 ± 9%) were inhibited by anti-gC1q-R mAb 60.11. Similar effects were noted with polyclonal anti-cC1q-R but not with control nonimmune IgG. The two Abs had a slight additive effect (75 ± 13% inhibition) when mixed together in the proportion of 100 μg/ml anti-gC1q-R and 30 μg/ml anti-cC1q-R. More importantly, a 100% inhibition of spreading, but not adhesion, to C1q-coated wells was observed when HDMVEC were cultured in the presence of 30 μM of the peptide GRRGDSP but not GRRGESP. Furthermore, while anti-β1 integrin Ab blocked both adhesion and spreading, anti-α5 integrin blocked only spreading and not adhesion. Ag capture ELISA of endothelial cell membrane proteins using polyclonal anti-gC1q-R showed the presence of not only β1 and α5 integrins but also CD44. Taken together these results suggest that endothelial cell adhesion and spreading require the cooperation of both C1qRs and β1 integrins and possibly other membrane-spanning molecules.
An Analysis of Short-Term Performance of UK Cross-Border Mergers and Acquisitions by Chinese Listed Companies

Using a unique and proprietary database of Chinese cross-border mergers and acquisitions into the UK from 2012 to early 2016, this paper investigates the short-term performance of UK cross-border mergers and acquisitions acquired by Chinese publicly-listed companies. Using event study analysis with four different time-period windows, the results show that Chinese acquirers have earned significantly positive abnormal returns on the first day following the announcement date of M&A deals, however, these positive returns faded away over time. In addition, we conduct the event analysis by sector subsamples. The findings suggest that Chinese acquirers in Real Estate and other business sector deals have gained positive abnormal returns, while those in the Financial sector had negative abnormal returns. Regarding the factors that drive stock performance, the paper takes five of the most related deal characteristics into consideration both in univariate analysis and regression analysis. The results indicate that target form (public/private) and absolute transaction size are the most influential factors on the short-term performance of these Chinese acquiring firms: acquirers engaged in deals where the target firms are UK private and small/medium-sized earn statistically significant higher abnormal returns than those UK public and large-sized targets.
Research Report: Increasing Returns to Information Technology

This work analyzes firm-level investment in information technology and corresponding productivity through the use of a production function over the period from 1995-1997. The results are then compared to previous studies that utilized similar data and methodologies to compare productivity estimates over time. The analysis indicates that investment in IT enhances productivity over the period in question and has illustrated increasing returns over time. These findings are supported by the corresponding empirical analysis which yielded IT capital coefficients in a production function of (0.12, 0.16, 0.18) and IT flow coefficients in a similar function of (0.17, 0.24, 0.22) for the years 1995, 1996, and 1997, respectively. These results reflect the change in firm output given a one-percent change in the natural log of dollars invested in IT capital and flow, and are statistically significant.
Firm Characteristics, Corporate Social Responsibility, Operating Environment And Performance Of Financial Institutions In Kenya

xvi CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION . 1 1.1 Background of the Study . 1 1.1.1 Firm Performance . 2 1.1.2 Firm Characteristics . 4 1.1.3 Corporate Social Responsibility . 5 1.1.4 Operating Environment . 7 1.1.5 Financial Institutions in Kenya . 7 1.2 Research Problem . 8 1.3 Research Objectives . 11 1.4 Value of the Study . 11 1.5 Structure of the Thesis . 12 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW . 13 2.
Comparison of the Vitek Gram-Positive Susceptibility 106 Card, the MRSA-Screen Latex Agglutination Test, and mecA Analysis for Detecting Oxacillin Resistance in a Geographically Diverse Collection of Clinical Isolates of Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci

ABSTRACT The Vitek automated susceptibility testing system with a modified gram-positive susceptibility (GPS) 106 card (bioMerieux Vitek, Inc., Hazelwood. Mo.) and a rapid slide latex agglutination test (MRSA-Screen test; Denka Seiken Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan) were evaluated for their abilities to detect oxacillin resistance in coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS). The reference broth microdilution method and the detection of the mecA gene by PCR (“gold standard” reference result) were used to compare the results obtained with the commercial products. A total of 123 clinical isolates consisting of eight species were selected from U.S. surveillance collections. Among the mecA-positive isolates (95 strains), 30 isolates were initially negative on the MRSA-Screen test read at 3 min. When the agglutination reaction was extended for 10 min, 26 of the 30 isolates became positive. For a different four isolates, the oxacillin MIC was ≤0.25 μg/ml on the Vitek GPS 106 card. Among the mecA-negative isolates (28 strains), for two Staphylococcus warneri, two S. lugdunensis, and two S. saprophyticus strains MICs were ≥0.5 μg/ml by the reference broth microdilution method. Four of these isolates were also categorized as resistant with the Vitek GPS 106 card and two isolates were positive by the MRSA-Screen test. Overall, the MRSA-Screen test, GPS 106 card, and reference broth microdilution method had sensitivities of 95.7 (result at 10 min), 95.7, and 100%, respectively, and specificities of 92.8, 85.7, and 78.5%, respectively. Although the MRSA-Screen test required a slight procedural modification, both commercial methods achieved a sensitivity and specificity at detecting oxacillin resistance in CoNS at a level that was acceptable for clinical laboratory use.
Optimal singular rocket and aircraft trajectories

We give a brief review of optimal singular control rocket and aircraft trajectories in outer space and in the atmosphere. Singular control rocket and aircraft trajectories occur when the thrust is at intermediate levels. The analysis of a singular control rocket or aircraft trajectory requires the Goh-Legendre-Clebsch necessary conditions. Two sets of compact forms of these conditions are described. The first compact form of these optimality conditions is convenient for testing the optimality of a singular control trajectory. The second compact form is important because its strengthened form provides sufficient conditions for the control variables to be expressed in terms of the state and costate variables.
Correlates of functional status, self-management, and developmental competence outcomes in adolescents with spina bifida.

Adolescents with spina bifida (SB), a congenital spinal cord impairment, are at high risk for negative outcomes. Even those with favorable cognitive status often fail to achieve independence, exhibiting poor functional and psychosocial outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between adaptation outcomes (functional status, self-management, and developmental competence) and SB condition-specific, adolescent protective factors, and family protective factors in a sample of adolescents with SB. Individual, interpersonal, and social developmental competence were explored. Sixty-six adolescent/parent pairs were interviewed. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, Cronbach alpha coefficients, and partial correlations controlling for age. All instruments had acceptable reliabilities. Factors associated with outcomes generally fell into two patterns. SB condition-specific variables and adolescent activities (e.g., decision-making, household responsibilities) were related to functional status, self-management, and social competence. In contrast, adolescent beliefs (hope, attitude, and communication efficacy) were predominantly related to individual, interpersonal, and overall developmental competence.
The Impact of Board Size on Firm-Level Capital Investment Efficiency

The study aims to examine whether and how board structure is associated with firm-level capital investment efficiency. Specifically, I investigate whether the size of a firmi¯s board is associated with the sensitivity of investments to the availability of internal funds. I hypothesize and find that board size is inversely related to investment-cash flow sensitivity. Larger boards seem to mitigate investment-cash flow sensitivity by reducing information asymmetry between managers and external capital providers. The study is important as it reveals that board structure influences the corporate investment policy, which is one of the most important firm economic decisions.
Clinical significance of PlA polymorphism of platelet GP IIb/IIIa receptors during long-term VAD support.

BACKGROUND Although bleeding and thromboembolism remain major complications after implantation of ventricular assist devices (VADs), no standard anticoagulation protocols are available. Genetic polymorphism of platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa may contribute to the development of complications. The present study demonstrates a relationship between the PlA genotype and postoperative complications in patients implanted with pulsatile and axial flow VADs. METHODS The PlA genotype was determined in 41 consecutive patients treated with a VAD who received anticoagulation with phenprocoumon and aspirin. Pulsatile Novacor (Novacor Corp, Oakland, CA) and Berlin Heart VADs (Berlin Heart, Berlin, Germany) were implanted in 28 patients and the axial flow MicroMed DeBakey VAD (MicroMed Technology, Inc, Houston, TX) in 13. The relationship between the PlA genotype, the anticoagulation regime, and bleeding and thromboembolic events was analyzed. RESULTS There were no differences between patients with the A1A1 and A1A2 genotype regarding demographic characteristics, weight, or infection episodes. The international normalized ratio (INR), platelet activation tests, and doses of aspirin and dipyridamol before events were similar in both groups. Patients with the A1A1 genotype developed more bleeding complications (39% vs 0%, p = 0.021), while patients with the A1A2 genotype showed a tendency toward more thromboembolic events (13% vs 30%, p = 0.33). With regard to different types of VAD, patients with the axial flow DeBakey VAD and the A1A1 genotype developed significantly more bleeding complications (70% vs 0%, p = 0.033). CONCLUSIONS In patients with a long-term VAD determination of PlA polymorphism and subsequent adjustment of the anticoagulation regime may lead to a reduction of bleeding and thromboembolic complications.