Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Promoting Worker Loyalty: An Empirical Analysis of Generational Differences

What strategies might firms employ to promote worker loyalty? Using data collected from over 10,880 employees in 650 workplaces in six culturally and economically diverse former socialist countries, we empirically assess the nature and scope of generational differences in the link between loyalty and reward structure. Controlling for a wide variety of worker and workplace characteristics, we find generational differences in worker loyalty are not the norm. We find positive links between loyalty and different components of the firm’s reward structure, but the results are not consistent across countries. While reward desirability influences worker loyalty, it rarely influences the link between loyalty and the firm’s reward structure. Possible strategies to promote worker loyalty are discussed.
Fresh whole blood versus reconstituted blood for pump priming in heart surgery in infants.

BACKGROUND In an attempt to reduce the coagulopathic and inflammatory responses seen after cardiopulmonary bypass, the use of fresh whole blood during heart operations has become the standard of care for neonates and infants at many institutions. We compared the use of fresh whole blood with the use of a combination of packed red cells and fresh-frozen plasma (reconstituted blood) for priming of the cardiopulmonary bypass circuit. METHODS We conducted a single-center, randomized, double-blind, controlled trial involving children less than one year of age who underwent open-heart surgery. Patients were assigned to receive either fresh whole blood that had been collected not more than 48 hours previously (96 patients) or reconstituted blood (104 patients) for bypass-circuit priming. Clinical outcomes and serologic measures of systemic inflammation and myocardial injury were compared between the groups. RESULTS The group that received reconstituted blood had a shorter stay in the intensive care unit than the group that received fresh whole blood (70.5 hours vs. 97.0 hours, P=0.04). The group that received reconstituted blood also had a smaller cumulative fluid balance at 48 hours (-6.9 ml per kilogram of body weight vs. 28.8 ml per kilogram, P=0.003). Early postoperative chest-tube output, blood-product transfusion requirements, and levels of serum mediators of inflammation and cardiac troponin I were similar in the two groups. CONCLUSIONS The use of fresh whole blood for cardiopulmonary bypass priming has no advantage over the use of a combination of packed red cells and fresh-frozen plasma during surgery for congenital heart disease. Moreover, circuit priming with fresh whole blood is associated with an increased length of stay in the intensive care unit and increased perioperative fluid overload.
Ising model in an oscillating magnetic field: Mean-field theory.

I consider the dynamics of a soft-spin Ising magnet, subject to the time-varying external magnetic field h(t)=h cosΩt. The system is modeled with a time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau equation and is studied at a mean-field level. The time-averaged magnetization (M) acts as the order parameter and divides the temperature-h plane into two phases. In contrast to a previous result that predicted a dynamical tricritical point separating a line of continuous and discontinuous transitions in M, I find that the transition is always continuous. The previous work utilized Glauber dynamics which, it is here argued, becomes inapplicable near the phase boundary line due to a critical slowing down
The CEO Compensation System of New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Technology Companies: An Emperical Study between CEO Compensation, Firm Size, Firm Performance, and CEO Power

This study investigated the CEO Compensation system of the NYSE Technology companies. It attested the relationship between the CEO compensation, the firm size, the accounting performance, and the corporate governance. The research question for this study was — is there a relationship between the CEO cash compensation, the firm size, the accounting performance, and the corporate governance? It was found that there was a relationship between the CEO salary, the total CEO compensation, the firm size, the accounting performance, and the corporate governance. It was found that there was no relationship between the CEO Bonus, the firm size, and the firm performance.
The Burden of Attention: The Impact of CEO Publicity on Tax Avoidance

We use Google search volume index for a CEO’s name and stock ticker to measure CEO publicity, and examine the competing hypotheses on its effect on the tax behavior: On the one hand, CEOs who receive higher attention from the retail investors are motivated to engage in tax avoidance activities to inflate earning to meet investors’ performance expectation; on the other hand, they concern more about public image and therefore avoid to be labeled as tax avoiders. Based on the analysis of the CEOs of S&P500 firms between 2004 and 2011, the finding supports the former and shows that the CEOs with higher publicity manage to enjoy lower effective tax rate and cash effective tax rate. In addition, such effect is moderated by board independence. Finally, we find that firms with higher CEO publicity pay auditors more tax fees, suggesting that these CEOs tend to purchase more tax planning service from external auditors. Our findings are robust to alternative measures of tax avoidance, and have important implications on both tax authority and investors.
An investigation into venture financing: A case study on small to medium scale enterprises in Bindura urban, Zimbabwe (2013-2014)

This paper sought to investigate on venture financing to SMEs in Zimbabwe. The research focused on SMEs operating in Bindura town under Mashonaland Central Province. The survey research design was used. A target population of 356 registered SMEs operating different types of industries in Bindura was used in this study. Probability sampling was used to select the 188 respondents from the population. A structured questionnaire was used to collect primary data from ownermanagers in SMEs. Secondary data and interviews with officials from Small Enterprises Development Corporation (SEDCO) and bank officials were used to gather qualitative data. Interview responses were analyzed by content analysis and questionnaire responses were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences tool and Microsoft Office Excel software. The results indicated that the majority of SMEs in Bindura use their own savings, family and friends to finance their businesses. The results also indicated that the financing options available to Bindura SMEs are impracticable to support the capital required for their operation because of stringent requirements and lack of collateral security. The study also concluded that SMEs do not only need financial support from government but also need support in research, quality assurance, marketing, financial management and technology. The study recommended that government should act as a guarantee to banks and credit institutions for SMEs that is by making an undertaking to pay the banks in the event of the SMEs failing to pay back. The study also recommends the use of venture capital rather than debt financing and SMEs should also form groups and make use of pooled negotiating power for borrowing purposes. Further, the study recommended the decentralisation of operating of support institutions such as SEDCO and Venture Capital Company of Zimbabwe (VCCZ) in order to reach SMEs operating in small towns and remote areas of the country. Keyword: Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs), Venture Financing, Entrepreneur,
Heat-shock proteins: new keys to the development of cytoprotective therapies

As molecular chaperones, heat-shock proteins (HSPs) function to limit protein aggregation, facilitate protein refolding and chaperone other proteins. Under conditions of cellular stress, intracellular HSP levels increase in order to provide cellular protection and maintain homeostasis. Evidence exists that the HSP family may be secreted into the circulation via lipid raft-mediated, granule-mediated or exosome-mediated exocytosis in haematopoietic and tumour cells. Extracellular HSPs exert immunomodulatory activities and play an important role in innate immune activation against pathogen infection. Membrane-bound Hsp70 in tumour cells or released chaperone-tumour associated antigen complex represent a target structure for the cytolytic attack by natural killer cells or T lymphocytes. Cellular stresses induce stress granule formation to evade detrimental cellular effects, mediating preconditioning phenotype. Therefore, induction of cellular stress tolerance by preconditioning (e.g., heat shock) might be potential therapeutic targets.
Patient Health Status and Costs in Heart Failure: Insights From the Eplerenone Post–Acute Myocardial Infarction Heart Failure Efficacy and Survival Study (EPHESUS)

Background— Although a variety of prognostic tools have been shown to predict rehospitalization and mortality in heart failure patients, their utility in assessing future costs is less clear. We assessed whether health status assessment with the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ) predicts future costs in stable heart failure outpatients with left ventricular dysfunction after myocardial infarction. Methods and Results— We evaluated 12-month cost utilization data from 1516 heart failure outpatients enrolled in the Quality-of-Life Substudy of the Eplerenone Post–Myocardial Infarction Heart Failure Efficacy and Survival Study (EPHESUS). Multivariable hierarchical models assessed whether the KCCQ (categorized as 0 to <25, 25 to <50, 50 to <75, and 75 to 100) was an independent predictor of future resource use. At baseline, 685 patients (45.2%) had good health status (KCCQ scores ≥75), whereas 510 (33.6%), 262 (17.3%), and 59 (3.9%) had fair (KCCQ, 50 to 74), poor (KCCQ, 25 to 49), and the worst (KCCQ <25) health status, respectively. After multivariable adjustment, compared with patients with good health status, patients with fair health status incurred incremental 1-year costs of $1520 (cost ratio, 1.23; 95% confidence interval, 1.05 to 1.43), whereas patients with poor and the worst health status incurred incremental 1-year costs of $4265 (cost ratio, 1.63; 95% confidence interval, 1.34 to 1.99) and $8999 (cost ratio, 2.34; 95% confidence interval, 1.62 to 3.38), respectively (P<0.0001 for association with KCCQ). Further adjustment for New York Heart Association class led to only partial attenuation of this relationship (P=0.0002). Conclusion— Health status assessment predicts resource use and costs over the next year in stable heart failure outpatients with left ventricular dysfunction after myocardial infarction.
The Effects of Owners' Participation and Lockup on IPO Underpricing in Malaysia

Recent theories of initial public offering (IPO) underpricing depart from the traditional asymmetric information models. Two recent IPO underpricing models are Habib and Ljungqvist (2001) and Brav and Gompers (2003). The Malaysian IPO market, characterised by high incidence of secondary offerings and IPO lockup commitments, provides a fertile ground to test the newer theories of IPO underpricing. Examining IPOs between August 1996 and June 2000 in Bursa Malaysia, the evidence lends support to the theoretical predictions that IPO underpricing is negatively related to owners' participation ratio and positively associated with the fraction of directors' shares which is subject to liquidity restrictions.
Socioeconomic factors and severity of periodontal disease in adults (35-44 years). A cross sectional study

Background Periodontal disease or periodontitis is an inflammatory disease with a hight prevalence. According to the last oral health survey of the Spanish population, between 24% and 37% of Spaniards aged over 35 years have periodontitis and 6% to 10% of the adult population have deep periodontal pockets. The aim of this study was to determine the association between risk factors and the presence of periodontal pockets in the adult population. Material and Methods A cross sectional or prevalence study of a representative sample of the adult population of the Valencia region was designed. The sample was recruited at 35 health centres, The study was conducted in November and December 2006 under standardized conditions as regards light sources, equipment and instruments and the position of the three previously calibrated dentist examiners. Results The sample examined consisted of 733 individuals (220 men and 513 women). Measured by the CPI, 13% were healthy and 5.5% presented bleeding. The prevalence of calculus was 59.3%, that of 3.5-5.5 mm pockets was 15.8% and that of pockets deeper than 5.5 mm was 4.6%. Almost half the sextants were healthy (2.89), 0.61 presented bleeding and 1.74 presented calculus. The mean number of sextants affected by 3.5-5.5 mm pockets was 0.46 and 0.07 presented deep pockets (>5.5 mm). An adjusted multiple logistic regression model with the presence of periodontal pockets as the dependent variable showed that the significant independent variables were low social class (OR=1.81), smoking (OR=1.68), primary education (OR=1.57), male gender (OR=1.56) and age (OR=1.08). The other study variables were not significant in this model. Conclusions Socioeconomic factors such as primary education and low social class, as well as gender, age and smoking, were found to be associated to a significant degree with greater prevalence of periodontal disease in the adult population. Key words:Periodontal disease, adults, socioeconomic factors, periodontal pockets, cross sectional study.
A case of juvenile idiopathic arthritis exhibiting repair of systemic bone erosion in response to continuation of MTX therapy after achievement of clinical remission

We report a patient with rheumatoid factor-positive polyarthritis-type juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) in whom clinical remission was achieved within 10 months after the start of methotrexate (MTX) therapy, and systemic repair of bone erosion was noted 8 months after clinical remission. These results indicate that even in cases of active JIA with the development of bone erosion, continuation of MTX therapy after the achievement of clinical remission can improve the prognosis, including repair of bone destruction.
Early pregnancy loss following assisted reproductive technology treatment.

BACKGROUND In women treated by assisted reproductive technology (ART), early pregnancy loss (EPL) reduces the initial success. Risk factors for EPL, however, have not been comprehensively studied. This study assesses some potential risk factors in ART pregnancies. METHODS Altogether 1196 pregnancies, defined as serum hCG >or=10 IU/l on day 16 +/- 1 after oocyte retrieval, were included in this study. EPL was defined as pregnancy loss that occurred before 6-7 weeks gestation. Risk factors investigated were maternal age, body mass index (BMI), smoking and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) status, infertility aetiology, response to stimulation, quality and number of embryos replaced and treatment type. RESULTS Overall EPL was 16%. The risk of EPL was not linearly related to either age or BMI. Though women >40 years old had an increased risk, this was not significant after adjusting for other factors. The risk in both lean (BMI <18.5 kg/m(2)) and very obese (BMI >35 kg/m(2)) women was also not significantly higher in multivariate analysis. There was no effect of PCOS. Smoking or transfer of 'poor quality' embryo(s) was associated with a significant increased risk of EPL after adjusting for other factors. CONCLUSION Smoking and transferring poor quality embryos increased EPL, while the effects of age, obesity and other risk factors were not significant in a multivariate analysis.
Comparative Analysis of Researchers’, Extension Agents’ and Farmers’ Perception of the Use of Entertainment- Education (EE) for Agricultural Information Dissemination in South-Western Nigeria

Entertainment- Education (EE) seeks to purposefully use entertainment media to educate targets about development intervention. Though, an innovative communication approach for addressing development related issues, its use and potentials for dissemination and adoption of agricultural technology has not been fully harnessed. The study was conducted to compare the perception of researchers, extension agents and farmers in southwestern Nigeria on the use of EE for agricultural information dissemination. One hundred and sixty one respondents were sampled using multistage sampling procedure. Data were collected using questionnaire and analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Majority (72.1%) of the researchers had a high perception of the use of EE. More than half (54.7%) of the extension agents and about two-thirds (61.1%) of farmers had a low perception towards the use of EE strategy. However, there was an overall high perception of EE by 50.3% of the total respondents. Researchers, extension agents and farmers differed (F = 5.779; P< 0.05) in their perception of the use of EE for agricultural information dissemination. The overall favourable perception of use of EE for agricultural technology dissemination implies that if conscious efforts are made it offers a potent medium for agricultural information dissemination.
Galantamine for the treatment of cognitive impairments in people with schizophrenia.

OBJECTIVE People with schizophrenia are characterized by a broad range of cognitive impairments. Despite appropriate treatment with conventional or second-generation antipsychotics, they continue to exhibit pronounced impairments. The current study was designed to examine the efficacy and safety of galantamine, an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor that also acts as an allosteric modulator at the alpha(4)beta(2) and alpha(7) nicotinic receptors, for the treatment of these impairments. METHOD Eighty-six people with schizophrenia were entered into a 12-week double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial. Forty-two subjects were assigned to galantamine and 44 were assigned to placebo. The efficacy of galantamine for cognitive impairments was evaluated with neuropsychological measures of attention, motor speed, processing speed, verbal and visual memory, and working memory. RESULTS The treatment effect for the overall composite score was not significant, but the heterogeneity of treatment effect analysis was significant. Follow-up analyses revealed that the subjects taking galantamine exhibited significant improvements on the WAIS-III digit symbol and verbal memory measures. In contrast, the subjects taking placebo showed a significant improvement on the GDS distractibility test. The group differences on the WAIS-III digit symbol and GDS distractibility test remained significant after correction for multiple comparisons. There were no significant between-group differences in motor speed or working memory. In general, safety analyses revealed that galantamine was well tolerated. CONCLUSIONS Study results suggest that galantamine may have selective benefits for aspects of processing speed and verbal memory but interferes with practice effects during the performance of an attention task.
Aggregate Distress Risk is Priced with a Positive Premium

Using Campbell, Hilscher, and Szilagyi’s (2008) default probability measure, we show in three ways that investors require a positive premium for bearing systematic distress risk. First, aggregate default probability correlates positively with future excess market returns when we control for other determinants of conditional equity premium. Second, portfolios whose returns have big loadings on lagged aggregate default probability earn higher expected returns than do portfolios with small loadings. Lastly, if a stock provides a poor hedge for distress risk—i.e., has a strong negative covariance with changes in aggregate default probability, it tends to have high future returns, ceteris paribus. We also find that the default probability is a poor measure of exposure to distress risk—the negative default probability-return relation documented in early studies reflects influence of economic forces other than aggregate distress risk.
Corporate Valuation: A Literature Review

This article discusses the ways and methods of corporate valuations that include the discounted cash flow models, the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) and Arbitrage Pricing Models (APM), Tobin's q, sales accelerator and cash flow models of investment, and economic base performance measures such as Economic Rent and Excess Market Value. It seems that more innovated methods to detect changes in companies’ financial positions are needed. Also, managers’ financial experiences are essential for companies to compete in a world with a constant change.
A constructive heuristic algorithm to short term transmission network expansion planning

In this paper a method for solving the short term transmission network expansion planning (STTNEP) problem is presented. The STTNEP is a very complex mixed integer nonlinear programming problem that presents a combinatorial explosion in the search space. In this work we present a constructive heuristic algorithm to find a solution of the STTNEP of excellent quality. In each step of the algorithm a sensitivity index is used to add a circuit (transmission line or transformer) to the system. This sensitivity index is obtained solving the STTNEP problem considering as a continuous variable the number of circuits to be added (relaxed problem). The relaxed problem is a large and complex nonlinear programming and was solved through an interior points method that uses a combination of the multiple predictor corrector and multiple centrality corrections methods, both belonging to the family of higher order interior points method (HOIPM). Tests were carried out using a modified Garver system and the results presented show the good performance of both the constructive heuristic algorithm to solve the STTNEP problem and the HOIPM used in each step.
Managing technology licensing for stochastic R&D: from the perspective of an enterprise information system

Enterprise information technology (IT) plays an important role in technology innovation management for high-tech enterprises. However, to date most studies on enterprise technology innovation have assumed that the research and development (R&D) outcome is certain. This assumption does not always hold in practice. Motivated by the current practice of some IT industries, we establish a three-stage duopoly game model, including the R&D stage, the licensing stage and the output stage, to investigate the influence of bargaining power and technology spillover on the optimal licensing policy for the innovating enterprise when the outcome of R&D is uncertain. Our results demonstrate that (1) if the licensor has low (high) bargaining power, fixed-fee (royalty) licensing is always superior to royalty (fixed-fee) licensing to the licensor regardless of technology spillover; (2) if the licensor has moderate bargaining power and technology spillover is low (high) as well, fixed-fee (royalty) licensing is superior to royalty (fixed-fee) licensing; (3) under two-part tariff licensing and the assumption of licensors with full bargaining power, if a negative prepaid fixed fee is not allowed, two-part tariff licensing is equivalent to royalty licensing which is the optimal licensing policy; if negative prepaid fixed fee is allowed, the optimal policy is two-part tariff licensing.