Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Achieving property valuation accuracy in developing countries: the implication of data source

Purpose The demand for accurate property value estimation by valuation report end users has led to a shift towards advanced property valuation modelling techniques in some property markets and these require a sizeable number of data set to function. In a situation where there is a lack of a centralised transaction data bank, scholars and practitioners usually collect data from different sources for analysis, which could affect the accuracy of property valuation estimates. This study aims to establish the suitability of different data sources that are reliable for estimating accurate property values. Design/methodology/approach This study adopts the Lagos metropolis property market, Nigeria, as the study area. Transaction data of residential properties are collected from two sources, i.e. from real estate firms (selling price) and listing prices from an online real estate company. A portion of the collected data is fitted into the artificial neural network (ANN) model, which is used to predict the remaining property prices. The holdout sample data are predicted with the developed ANN models. Thereafter, the predicted prices and the actual prices are compared so as to establish which data set generates the most accurate property valuation estimates. Findings It is found that the listing data (listing prices) produced an encouraging mean absolute error (MAE), root mean square error (RMSE) and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) values compared with the firms’ data (selling prices). An MAPE value of 26.93 and 29.96 per cent was generated from the listing and firms’ data, respectively. A larger proportion of the predicted listing prices had property valuation error of margin that is within the industry acceptable standard of between ±0 and 10 per cent, compared with the predicted selling prices. Also, a higher valuation accuracy was recorded in properties with lower values, compared with expensive properties. Practical implications The opaqueness in real estate transactions consummated in developing nations could be attributed to why selling prices (data) could not produce more accurate valuation estimates in this study than listing prices. Despite the encouraging results produced using listing prices, there is still an urgent need to maintain a robust and quality property data bank in developing nations, as obtainable in most developed nations, so as to achieve a sustainable global property valuation practice. Originality/value This study does not investigate the relationship between listing prices and selling prices, which has been conducted in previous studies, but examines their suitability to improve property valuation accuracy in an emerging property market. The findings of this study would be useful in property markets where property transaction data bank is not available.
Long-term effects of progestin and RU 486 on prolactin production and synthesis in human endometrial stromal cells.

Previous studies have shown that the production of prolactin (PRL) is increased in human endometrial stromal cells cultured with medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) for 3-5 days. In the present study, we have investigated the effect of prolonged treatment of progestin and anti-progestin, RU 486, on the production and synthesis of PRL. Stromal cells were isolated from human endometrium obtained from non-pregnant women and cultured for 20-30 days in medium RPMI 1640 with 2% fetal calf serum or supplemented with MPA, RU 486, alone or in sequence. The PRL content in medium was measured by radioimmunoassay. The production rate was estimated from the PRL content in medium accumulated in 24 h. The PRL production rate was progressively increased in stromal cells continuously treated with MPA for 30 days (greater than 100-fold over the control value, i.e. 0-0.01 microgram/0.1 mg cell DNA/day). RU 486 alone had no effect on the production of PRL. However, the production of PRL was increased by MPA in stromal cells pretreated with RU 486 indicating that the effect of RU 486 is reversible. When stromal cells were treated with MPA and RU 486 sequentially, RU 486 stimulated the PRL production (approximately 2-fold over the MPA-treated cells) for 2-3 days and then reduced to basal levels over a 5-day period. The stimulatory and inhibitory effects of RU 486 on PRL production in stromal cells pretreated with progestin was also observed in the rate of synthesis of PRL estimated by incubating the stromal cells with [35S]methionine and immuno-isolating the [35S]PRL with anti-PRL. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
The Long QT Syndrome: Prospective Longitudinal Study of 328 Families

BackgroundThe Long QT Syndrome (LQTS) is an infrequently occurring familial disorder in which affected individuals have electrocardiographic QT interval prolongation and a propensity to veiltricular tachyarrhythmic syncope and sudden death. We prospectively investigated the clinical characteristics and the long-term course of 3,343 individuals from 328 families in which one or more members were identified as affected with LQTS (QTc > 0.44 sec½). Methods and ResultsThe first member of a family to be identified with LQTS, the proband, was usually brought to medical attention because of a syncopal episode during childhood or teenage years. Probands (n = 328) were younger at first contact (age 21 ± 15 years), more likely to be female (69%o), and had a higher frequency of preenroilment syncope or cardiac arrest with resuscitation (80%), congenital deafness (7%), a resting heart rate less than 60 beats/min (31%), QTc ≥ 0.50 sec½ (52%), and a history of ventricular tachyarrhythmia (47%) than other affected (n = 688) and unaffected (n = 1,004) family members. Arrhythmogenic syncope often occurred in association with acute physical, emotional, or auditory arousal. The syncopal episodes were frequently misinterpreted as a seizure disorder. By age 12 years, 50% of the probands had experienced at least one syncopal episode or death. The rates of postenrollment syncope (one or more episodes) and probable LQTS-related death (before age 50 years) for probands (n = 235; average follow-up 54 months per patient) were 5.0% per year and 0.9% per year, respectively; these event rates were considerably higher than those observed among affected and unaffected family members. ConclusionsAmong 232 probands and 1,264 family members with prospective follow-up, three factors made significant independent contributions to the risk of subsequent syncope or probable LQTS-related death before age 50 years, whichever occurred first (Cox hazard ratio; 95% confidence limits): 1) QTc (1.052; 1.017, 1.088), 2) history of cardiac event (3.1; 1.3, 7.2), and 3) heart rate (1.017; 1.004, 1.031). The findings from this prospective longitudinal study highlight the clinical features, risk factors, and course of LQTS.
Sexual Minority Youth and the Juvenile Justice System: A Poignant Need Group

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questions (LGBTQ) youth are overrepresented in the U.S. juvenile justice system. These youth experience a variety of personal, social and systemic harms and difficulties that place them at greater risk of involvement in the juvenile justice system. Understanding the prevalence of risk factors experienced by LGBTQ youth can lead to improved intervention efforts. Using data from a Health Coach Service project implemented at a juvenile intake facility, n=1.619 newly arrested youth were included in the current study (8.3% self-identified as sexual minority). The current study sought to determine prevalence rates of minority sexual orientation, whether LBGTQ youth differed in regard to key demographic and risk factors, and whether these differences varied by gender. Findings revealed sexual minority, justice-involved adolescents suffered disproportionate juvenile justice placement, family problems, risky sexual behavior (including STD positivity), depression, and victimization. Gender differences among sexual minority youth were reported for family problems, sexual risk behavior, depression, sexual assault, bullying, and drug use severity. The results suggest a need to advocate for LGBTQ youth to ensure policies and procedures are sensitive to the rights of LGBTQ youth.
Option‐implied betas and the cross section of stock returns

We investigate the cross‐sectional relationship between stock returns and a number of measures of option‐implied beta. Using portfolio analysis, we show that the method proposed by Buss and Vilkov (2012, The Review of Financial Studies, 2525, 3113–3140) leads to a stronger relationship between implied beta and stock returns than other approaches. However, using the Fama and MacBeth (1973, Journal of Political Economy, 8181, 607–636) cross‐section regression methodology, we show that the relationship is not robust to the inclusion of other firm characteristics. We further show that a similar result holds for implied downside beta. We, therefore, conclude that there is no robust relation between option‐implied beta and returns.
Awareness on climate change: perceived physical and psychological impact among the young generation. Least developing country's perspective

Climate change is a crucial issue of global concern. The causes, consequences, and mitigation policies of climate change in developed countries are well researched. However, research regarding climate change awareness and its impact on human health in developing countries is scarce. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the awareness of climate change in aspects of perceived physical and psychological impact among the young generation of Bangladesh. A survey of 263 university students (both public and private) from undergraduate and postgraduate level were involved directly in this research and applied multiple regression analysis. The results indicated young generations are aware of perceived physical impact due to climate change. However, majority portion of the young citizens (in Bangladesh) are unaware of the impact of perceived psychological issues affecting overall individual behaviour (due to the effect of climate change). The findings of this research may leverage the policy makers of developing countries (including NGO's) to develop campaigns targeted towards young citizens to build awareness of the effects due to climate change.
High-speed rail transport valuation with stochastic demand and investment cost

ABSTRACT This paper extends Couto, Gualter, Cláudia Nunes, and Pedro Pimentel [(2015). ‘High-speed Rail Transport Valuation and Conjuncture Shocks. ’ European Journal of Finance 21(10–11): 791–805] high-speed rail (HSR) transport valuation framework using real options analysis to embrace the stochastic investment costs. Optimal timing to invest, value of the option to defer, and investment opportunity value are assessed considering uncertainty about HSR demand and investment expenditures, both following a geometric Brownian motion with jumps driven by Poisson processes. The numerical results show consistency with the results presented in Couto, Nunes, and Pimentel (2015).
Human ILT2 receptor associates with murine MHC class I molecules in vivo and impairs T cell function

Immunoglobulin‐like transcript 2 (ILT2/LILRB1/LIR1/CD85j) is an inhibitory receptor broadly expressed on leukocytes and antigen‐presenting cells that recognizes HLA‐class I and human cytomegalovirus UL18 proteins. The function of this receptor is to generate negative signals or to inhibit positive signals. Here, we demonstrate the model to study the function of ILT2 in vivo using a newly generated transgenic mouse expressing the human inhibitory receptor on T, B, NK, and NKT cells. ILT2 expression affects thymocyte development and targets the proximal TCR signaling pathway, resulting in long‐term survival or acceptance of skin allografts. The phenotype and constitutive tyrosine phosphorylation of ILT2 in transgenic mice illustrate the possible existence of a murine ligand. We report here that H‐2Db, a murine MHC class I molecule, associates with human ILT2 in vivo. This engagement with ILT2 directs effects on thymocyte development, negative regulation of TCR signaling, T cell activation, and alloimmune responses. Our finding provides support for an important inhibitory function of ILT2 in T cells in vivo and opens up strategies for targeting proximal TCR signaling for prevention of allograft rejection.
Is Basel III counter-cyclical: The case of South Africa?

This paper develops a dynamic general equilibrium model with banking and a macro-prudential authority, and studies the extent to which the Basel III bank capital regulation promotes financial and macroeconomic stability in the context of South African economy. The decomposition analysis of the transition from Basel II to Basel III suggests that it is the counter-cyclical capital buffer that effectively mitigates the pro-cyclicality of its predecessor, while the impact of the conservative buffer is marginal. Basel III has a pronounced impact on the financial sector compared to the real sector and is more effective in mitigating fluctuations in financial and business cycles when the economy is hit by financial shocks. In contrast to the credit-to-GDP ratio, the optimal policy analysis suggests that the regulatory authority should adjust capital requirement to changes in credit and output when implementing the counter-cyclical buffer.
Evaluation of 3 Serological Tests for Early Detection Of Leptospira‐specific Antibodies in Experimentally Infected Dogs

Background Leptospirosis in dogs is a disease of global importance. Early detection and appropriate therapeutic intervention are necessary to resolve infection and prevent zoonotic transmission. However, its diagnosis is hindered by nonspecific clinical signs and lack of rapid diagnostic tests of early infection. Recently, 2 rapid point‐of‐care tests (WITNESS Lepto [WITNESS Lepto, Zoetis LLC, Kalamazoo, MI, USA] and SNAP Lepto [SNAP Lepto, IDEXX Laboratories, Westbrook, ME, USA]) for detection of Leptospira‐specific antibodies in canine sera were developed. Hypothesis Immunoglobulin M‐based WITNESS Lepto containing multiple detection antigens can detect Leptospira‐specific antibodies to common leptospiral serovars earlier in the course of infection as compared to microscopic agglutination test (MAT) and SNAP Lepto. Animals Four groups of 8 6‐ to 8‐month‐old male Beagle dogs were used. Methods Thirty‐two healthy seronegative dogs were inoculated experimentally with serovars Canicola, Grippotyphosa, Icterohaemorrhagiae, and Pomona (8 dogs/serovar). Acute‐phase sera were collected at regular intervals and monitored for Leptospira‐specific antibodies by WITNESS Lepto, MAT, and SNAP Lepto. Results Seroconversion was detected in all dogs by day 10 by WITNESS Lepto and in 30 of 32 dogs by day 14 by MAT. The SNAP Lepto test detected seroconversion in 3 dogs during the 2 weeks postchallenge. Conclusions Immunoglobulin M‐based WITNESS Lepto detected immune responses specific to multiple leptospiral serovars early in the course of infection and identified seroconversion in all animals earlier than did the gold standard MAT. The SNAP Lepto test displayed considerably lower and inconsistent performance during the study period. At the point‐of‐care, WITNESS Lepto should be the test of choice for rapid and reliable screening of acutely ill dogs suspected to have leptospirosis.
Determination of arginine, asymmetric dimethylarginine, and symmetric dimethylarginine in human plasma and other biological samples by high-performance liquid chromatography.

Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), an endogenous inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase (NOS), may be related to reduced biosynthesis of nitric oxide in diseases associated with accelerated atherosclerosis. The closely related compound symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA) does not inhibit NOS, but may compete with arginine for cellular uptake, thereby limiting substrate availability for NOS. We report on a method for the simultaneous measurement of arginine, ADMA, and SDMA as a tool to gain insight in the role of these compounds in the regulation of NOS activity. Sample cleanup was performed by solid-phase extraction on polymeric cation-exchange columns using monomethylarginine as internal standard. After derivatization with ortho-phthaldialdehyde reagent containing 3-mercaptopropionic acid, analytes were separated by isocratic reversed-phase HPLC with fluorescence detection. The stable derivatives were separated with near baseline resolution. Using a sample volume of 0.2 ml, linear calibration curves were obtained with limits of quantification of 0.08 microM for arginine and 0.01 microM for ADMA and SDMA. Analytical recovery was 98-102%, and interassay CV was better than 3%. Plasma from healthy volunteers (n = 53) contained 94 +/- 26 microM arginine, 0.42 +/- 0.06 microM ADMA, and 0.47 +/- 0.08 microM SDMA. Due to its high precision and sensitivity this method is a valuable tool in research on the metabolism of dimethylated arginines and their role in the regulation of NOS activity.
Evaluation of cut-off values of interferon-gamma-based assays in the diagnosis of M. tuberculosis infection.

SETTING A chest disease centre in Istanbul, Turkey. OBJECTIVE The diagnostic accuracy of interferon-gamma-based assays for Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection may be improved by using lower cut-off values for the tuberculin skin testing (TST), QuantiFERON-TB Gold (QFT) and T-SPOT.TB (T-SPOT) assays. DESIGN Three assays, TST, QFT and T-SPOT, were evaluated for their diagnostic performance with respect to different cut-off values. This evaluation was carried out in a comparative study involving 100 patients with untreated culture-confirmed cavitary pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) and 47 healthy subjects. RESULTS The sensitivities of the assays were: TST 70%, QFT 78% and T-SPOT 83.5%, while their specificities were TST 35%, QFT 89.4% and T-SPOT 84.8%. Both QFT and T-SPOT were significantly more specific than TST (both P < 0.001), but were similiar to each other (P = 0.5). Receiver operating characteristic analysis revealed that a cut-off value of 0.818 IU/ml for QFT maximises specificity without significant loss of test sensitivity. Using lower cut-off values for T-SPOT and TST, however, also increased the sensitivity of the assay but resulted in a significant decrease in specificity. CONCLUSION Lower cut-off values for TST, QFT and T-SPOT increased the sensitivity of each assay, but only with a lower cut-off value for QFT could specificity be maintained.
Transferrin receptor functions as a signal-transduction molecule for its own recycling via increases in the internal Ca2+ concentration.

Transferrin binding to its receptor modulates transferrin receptor (Tf-R) recycling rates in several cells [Klausner, R. D. , Van Renswoude, J., Ashwell, G. , Kempf, C. , Schechter, A. , Dean, A. & Bridges, K. R. (1983a) J. Biol. Chem. 258, 4715-4724; Gironès, N. & Davis, R. J. (1989) Biochem. J. 264, 35-46; Sainte-Marie, J., Vidal, M. , Bette-Bobillo, P., Philippot, J. R. & Bienvenüe, A. (1991) Eur. J. Biochem. 201, 295-302]. To delineate the mechanism of this regulation, we hypothesized that the binding of the ligand to its receptor could lead to activation of several second-messenger pathways, which may redundantly stimulate recycling of the receptor. The effects of different regulators of Ca2+ flux or concentrations were investigated on the Tf-R-recycling pathway; these studies were carried out in two cell types. Perhexiline, a calcium antagonist, slowed receptor recycling in comparison with the control by more than 80% in L2C cells and by 60% in Jurkat cells (B and T lymphoblasts, respectively) but did not affect their internalization rate. Perhexiline thus trapped considerable amounts of Tf-R in the internal compartment. Ca2+ chelators, such as EGTA or 1,2-bis(2-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N,N'-tetraacetic acid, and a Ca2+-channel inhibitor (Ni2+) decreased drastically the recycling rate of Tf-R. Tf-R recycling was shown to be slowed by a calmodulin antagonist. Conversely, artificial elevation of free internal Ca2+ in L2C cells, using lectin, accelerated the recycling rate. These results suggest that the intracellular Ca2+ concentration plays an important role in the outward flow of transferrin receptors. Consequently, we examined the role of transferrin in internal free Ca2+ regulation. The addition of transferrin or anti-(Tf-R) Ig specifically elicited a rise in [Ca2+], as demonstrated by inefficacy of apotransferrin or irrelevant antibodies. These results suggest that Ca2+ is a regulator of Tf-R recycling and that Tf-R seems to function as a signal-transduction molecule (perhaps in conjunction with other membrane proteins) rather than merely as an endocytic receptor.
Identifying Accounting Conservatism in the Presence of Skewness

The asymmetric timeliness (AT) coefficient as a measure of accounting conservatism has been subject to much debate. We clarify the conditions under which the AT coefficient identifies accounting conservatism in the presence of skewness. Specifically, using an extensive simulation-based approach, we examine the joint impact of return skewness, earnings skewness, and return endogeneity. We show that skewness of returns and earnings distorts the AT coefficient as a measure of conservatism when returns are endogenous. While earnings skewness is a predicted consequence of conditional conservatism, return skewness is arguably unrelated to conservative reporting and cannot be tackled by simple skew reducing transformations or outlier-robust estimators. Empirically, we analyze AT and skewness of firms sorted on size and MTB, highlighting the importance of constant skewness across groups for accurate comparisons of accounting conservatism.
Identifying the clinical domains of fibromyalgia: contributions from clinician and patient Delphi exercises.

OBJECTIVE In evaluating the effectiveness of fibromyalgia (FM) therapies, it is important to assess the impact of those therapies on the full array of domains considered important by both clinicians and patients. The objective of this research was to identify and prioritize the key clinically relevant and important domains impacted by FM that should be evaluated by outcome assessment instruments used in FM clinical trials, and to approach consensus among clinicians and patients on the priority of those domains to be assessed in clinical care and research. METHODS Group consensus was achieved using the Delphi method, a structured process of consensus building via questionnaires together with systematic and controlled opinion feedback. The Delphi exercises involved 23 clinicians with expertise in FM and 100 patients with FM as defined by American College of Rheumatology criteria. RESULTS The Delphi exercise revealed that the domains ranked most highly by patients were similar to the domain rankings by clinicians. Pain was consistently ranked highest by both panels. Fatigue, impact on sleep, health-related quality of life, comorbid depression, and cognitive difficulty were also ranked highly. Stiffness was ranked highly by patients but not clinicians. In contrast, side effects was important to clinicians but was not identified as important in the patient Delphi exercise. CONCLUSION The clinician and patient Delphi exercises identified and ranked key domains that need to be assessed in FM research. Based on these results, a conceptual framework for measuring patient-reported outcomes is proposed.