Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Impact of CEO’s characteristics on investment decisions of Indian listed firms: Does crisis make any difference?

Abstract Using a sample of listed Indian manufacturing companies, this study examines the role of chief executive officer’s (CEO’s) personal characteristics like age, tenure, education, and career experience in the determination of investment decisions of the firm. The dynamic panel data model estimation, more specifically the system generalized method of moments estimation results reveal a negative relation between CEO’s age and corporate investment. CEO’s financial education is positively associated with investment decisions. The investment cash flow sensitivity analysis posits that CEO’s age and financial education reduce the sensitivity of investment with respect to cash flow. The results are robust across different periods, defined on the basis of crises. In times of financial crisis, we document that firm’s liquidity and age, CEO’s career experience and tenure turn out to be significant determinants of corporate investment. This paper provides an out-of-sample evidence of the role of CEO’s personal characteristics on the determination of corporate investment, which is an unexplored issue from an emerging market perspective.
The Diffusion of Development: Along Genetic or Geographic Lines?

Why are some societies still poor? Recent research suggests that a country’s “genetic distance”—a measure of the time elapsed since two populations had common ancestry—from the United States is a significant predictor of development even after controlling for an ostensibly exhaustive list of geographic, historical, religious and linguistic variables. We find, by contrast, that the correlation of genetic distance from the US and GDP per capita disappears with the addition of controls for geography, including distance from the equator and a dummy for sub-Saharan Africa.
The Relationship between Customer Satisfaction and Service Quality with Special Reference to the Hypermarkets in Saudi Arabia

In recent years, customer satisfaction has been a subject of great interest in order to maximize the profit levels of the organizations. The quality of service provided by the organizations has become an important aspect of customer satisfaction. It has been a universal fact that service quality is proportionally related to customer satisfaction. It is obvious that customers play an important role in the organizational process (Lee & Ritzman, 2005, p. 92). Building customer relationship means delivering superior value over competitors to the target customers (Kotler et al., 2002, p. 391). Many companies are adopting quality management programs which aim at improving the quality of their products and marketing processes, because it has been proven that “quality has a direct impact on product performance, and thus on customer satisfaction” (Kotler et al., 2002, p. 8). The primary objective of this study is to examine the relationship between customer satisfaction and service quality in retail sectors with respect to the service quality dimensions with special reference to the hypermarkets in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).
Locked Nucleic Acid‐Based In Situ Hybridisation Reveals miR‐7a as a Hypothalamus‐Enriched MicroRNA with a Distinct Expression Pattern

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short (∼22 nucleotides) noncoding RNA molecules that post‐transcriptionally repress the expression of protein‐coding genes by binding to 3′‐untranslated regions of the target mRNAs. To identify miRNAs selectively expressed within the hypothalamus, a part of the brain that controls vital bodily functions, we employed locked nucleic acid (LNA)‐fluorescent in situ hybridisation (FISH). The expression pattern of the mature miRNAs miR‐7a, miR‐7b, miR‐137 and miR‐153 in mouse brain tissue sections was investigated. Although all studied miRNAs were present in the hypothalamus, miR‐7a, was the only miRNA found to be enriched in the hypothalamus, with low or no expression in other parts of the central nervous system (CNS). Within the hypothalamus, strong miR‐7a expression was distinct and restricted to some hypothalamic nuclei and adjacent areas. miR‐7a expression was particularly prominent in the subfornical organ, as well as the suprachiasmatic, paraventricular, periventricular, supraoptic, dorsomedial and arcuate nuclei. Identical expression patterns for miR‐7a were seen in mouse and rat hypothalamus. By combining LNA‐FISH with immunohistochemistry, it was shown that miR‐7a was preferentially present in small orexigenic neuropeptide Y/agouti‐related protein‐containing‐neurones located in the ventromedial aspect of the arcuate nucleus but not in large pro‐opiomelanocortin/cocaine‐ and amphetamine‐regulated transcript‐containing anorexigenic neurones of the ventrolateral part of the arcuate nucleus. The limited and distinct expression of miR‐7a in the CNS suggests that miR‐7a has a role in post‐transcriptional regulation in hypothalamic neurones. Particularly strong expression of miR‐7a in neurones located in the ventromedial division of the arcuate nucleus, a subregion with a weak blood–brain barrier, raises the possibility that miR‐7a is influenced by circulating hormones and is a regulator of the genes involved in body weight control.
Corporate Governance, ESG, and Stock Returns around the World

Nonfinancial performance measures, such as environmental, social, and governance (ESG) measures, are potentially leading indicators of companies’ financial performance. In the study reported here, I drew on prior academic literature and the concept of ESG materiality to develop new corporate governance and ESG metrics. The new metrics predicted stock returns in a global investable universe over the tested period, which suggests potential investment value in the ESG signals. Disclaimer: The author is employed by an investment management firm that invests in public equities globally. Important Disclosures: These materials should not be relied on as research or investment advice regarding any stock. There is no guarantee that any forecasts made will come to pass. Causeway Capital Management LLC does not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy, or completeness of such information. Although the author’s information providers, including without limitation MSCI ESG Research LLC and its affiliates (the “ESG Parties”), obtain information from sources they consider reliable, none of the ESG Parties warrants or guarantees the originality, accuracy, and/or completeness of any data herein. None of the ESG Parties makes any express or implied warranties of any kind, and the ESG Parties hereby expressly disclaim all warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, with respect to any data herein. None of the ESG Parties shall have any liability for any errors or omissions in connection with any data herein. Further, without limiting any of the foregoing, in no event shall any of the ESG Parties have any liability for any direct, indirect, special, punitive, consequential, or any other damages (including lost profits) even if notified of the possibility of such damages. Editor’s note Submitted 18 June 2019 Accepted 30 July 2019 by Stephen J. Brown
Templates are available to model nearly all complexes of structurally characterized proteins

Traditional approaches to protein–protein docking sample the binding modes with no regard to similar experimentally determined structures (templates) of protein–protein complexes. Emerging template-based docking approaches utilize such similar complexes to determine the docking predictions. The docking problem assumes the knowledge of the participating proteins’ structures. Thus, it provides the possibility of aligning the structures of the proteins and the template complexes. The progress in the development of template-based docking and the vast experience in template-based modeling of individual proteins show that, generally, such approaches are more reliable than the free modeling. The key aspect of this modeling paradigm is the availability of the templates. The current common perception is that due to the difficulties in experimental structure determination of protein–protein complexes, the pool of docking templates is insignificant, and thus a broad application of template-based docking is possible only at some future time. The results of our large scale, systematic study show that, surprisingly, in spite of the limited number of protein–protein complexes in the Protein Data Bank, docking templates can be found for complexes representing almost all the known protein–protein interactions, provided the components themselves have a known structure or can be homology-built. About one-third of the templates are of good quality when they are compared to experimental structures in test sets extracted from the Protein Data Bank and would be useful starting points in modeling the complexes. This finding dramatically expands our ability to model protein interactions, and has far-reaching implications for the protein docking field in general.
Contribution des moyens de production dispersés aux courants de défaut. Modélisation des moyens de production et algorithmes de détection de défaut.

Les travaux de la these se focalisent sur la protection des reseaux de distribution HTA en presence des generateurs distribues (eoliennes, fermes solaires,.). Dans un premier temps, un etat de l’art a ete realise sur les comportements des generateurs en creux de tension, leurs impacts sur le systeme de protection et les pistes de solution proposees pour y remedier. L’etape suivante est la mise au point d’algorithmes directionnels de detection de defauts, sans mesure de tension. Ces algorithmes s’appuient sur la decomposition en composantes symetriques des courants mesures. Ces relais doivent empecher le declenchement intempestif de protections de surintensite du au courant de defaut provenant des generateurs distribues. Ils sont moins couteux par rapport a ceux traditionnels car les capteurs de tension, qui sont indispensables pour ces derniers, peuvent etre enleves. Apres detection d’un defaut sur critere de seuil simple (max de I ou max de I residuel), la direction est evaluee a l’aide d’un algorithme en delta base sur les rapports courants inverse-homopolaire ou inverse-direct, selon le type de defaut (monophase ou biphase). En se basant sur ces rapports, un classifieur SVM (Support Vector Machines), entraine prealablement a partir des simulations, donne ensuite l’estimation de la direction du defaut (amont ou aval par rapport au relais). La bonne performance de ces algorithmes a ete montree dans la these pour differents parametres du reseau et en presence de differents types de generateurs. Le developpement de tels algorithmes favorise la mise en œuvre des protections en reseau, qui pourraient etre installees dans les futurs Smart Grids.
Indigenous knowledge based identification of medicinal plants in Central Zone of Tigray, North Ethiopia

There are many traditional medicine practitioners in every corner of the world, which can be grouped into spiritual healers and herbalists. Both groups do not tell to others about medicinal plants sometimes even to their descendants. This may have many different reasons, some say the medicine becomes functional if it is used in secret and some do not tell others fearing for competition of market as well as the medicinal plants because their abundance is mostly limited due to over exploitation. This study was conducted in the central zone of Tigray in specific sites called Tanqua-Abergelle, Kola-Tembien and Weri-Leke with the objective of identifying of medicinal plants based on indigenous knowledge. Purposive sampling was used for respondent selection and semi-structured interviews were employed. Then, the collected data were subjected to descriptive statistical method such as percentage and frequency which was employed to analyze and summarize the data on medicinal plants. From the identified medicinal plants, 92 plant species were used to cure human disease and 29 species for animal diseases and another 8 species were used to treat both human and livestock diseases. Even though medicinal plants are very crucial particularly for the people who dwell in remote and rural areas, some medicinal plants are being endangered due to low awareness on management of these plants. Hence, policy makers and other concerned bodies should give emphasis on conservation of medicinal plants. Key words: Herbalists, medicinal plants, indigenous knowledge, spiritual healers.
ATR Kinase Inhibition Protects Non-cycling Cells from the Lethal Effects of DNA Damage and Transcription Stress*

ATR (ataxia telangiectasia and Rad-3-related) is a protein kinase that maintains genome stability and halts cell cycle phase transitions in response to DNA lesions that block DNA polymerase movement. These DNA replication-associated features of ATR function have led to the emergence of ATR kinase inhibitors as potential adjuvants for DNA-damaging cancer chemotherapeutics. However, whether ATR affects the genotoxic stress response in non-replicating, non-cycling cells is currently unknown. We therefore used chemical inhibition of ATR kinase activity to examine the role of ATR in quiescent human cells. Although ATR inhibition had no obvious effects on the viability of non-cycling cells, inhibition of ATR partially protected non-replicating cells from the lethal effects of UV and UV mimetics. Analyses of various DNA damage response signaling pathways demonstrated that ATR inhibition reduced the activation of apoptotic signaling by these agents in non-cycling cells. The pro-apoptosis/cell death function of ATR is likely due to transcription stress because the lethal effects of compounds that block RNA polymerase movement were reduced in the presence of an ATR inhibitor. These results therefore suggest that whereas DNA polymerase stalling at DNA lesions activates ATR to protect cell viability and prevent apoptosis, the stalling of RNA polymerases instead activates ATR to induce an apoptotic form of cell death in non-cycling cells. These results have important implications regarding the use of ATR inhibitors in cancer chemotherapy regimens.
PENGARUH ISLAMIC CORPORATE GOVERNANCE dan ISLAMIC CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY TERHADAP KINERJA dan REPUTASI PERBANKAN SYARIAH INDONESIA

Tujuan dalam penelitian ini adalah untuk menguji pengaruh islamic corporate governance dan islamic corporate social responsibility terhadap kinerja dan reputasi perbankan syariah. Teknik pengambilan sampel yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah purposive sampling, sehingga didapat sampel dalam penelitian ini sebanyak 10 bank umum syariah di Indonesia dari tahun 2011-2015. Regresi linier berganda digunakan untuk menguji variabel-variabel penelitian. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa islamic corporate social responsibility berpengaruh signifikan terhadap kinerja dan reputasi perusahaan. Sementara islamic corporate governance berpengaruh signifikan terhadap kinerja tetapi tidak berpengaruh signifikan terhadap reputasi perusahaan. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of islamic corporate governance and islamic corporate social responsibility on financial performance and corporate reputation of islamic comercial banks. Sampling tecnique is used in this research is purposive sampling, so that samples obtained in this study are 10 islamic commercial banks in Indonesia since 2011-2015. Multiple linier regression is used to examine the research variables. The result from this research shows that islamic corporate social responsibility has significantly affect on financial performamce and corporate reputation. While there is significantly affect between islamic corporate governance on financial performamce, but there is no significantly affect on corporate reputation.
Objective and Subjective Refractive Error Measurements in Monkeys

Purpose. To better understand the functional significance of refractive-error measures obtained using common objective methods in laboratory animals, we compared objective and subjective measures of refractive error in adolescent rhesus monkeys. Methods. The subjects were 20 adolescent monkeys. Spherical-equivalent spectacle-plane refractive corrections were measured by retinoscopy and autorefraction while the animals were cyclopleged and anesthetized. The eye's axial dimensions were measured by A-Scan ultrasonography. Subjective measures of the eye's refractive state, with and without cycloplegia, were obtained using psychophysical methods. Specifically, we measured spatial contrast sensitivity as a function of spectacle lens power for relatively high spatial frequency gratings. The lens power that produced the highest contrast sensitivity was taken as the subjective refraction. Results. Retinoscopy and autorefraction consistently yielded higher amounts of hyperopia relative to subjective measurements obtained with or without cycloplegia. The subjective refractions were not affected by cycloplegia and on average were 1.42 ± 0.61 D and 1.24 ± 0.62 D less hyperopic than the retinoscopy and autorefraction measurements, respectively. Repeating the retinoscopy and subjective measurements through 3 mm artificial pupils produced similar differences. Conclusions. The results show that commonly used objective methods for assessing refractive errors in monkeys significantly overestimate the degree of hyperopia. It is likely that multiple factors contributed to the hyperopic bias associated with these objective measurements. However, the magnitude of the hyperopic bias was in general agreement with the “small-eye artifact” of retinoscopy.
Vulnerability Detection in Open Source Software: The Cure and the Cause

 Abstract — According to Veracode, a Gartner-recognised leader in application security, 44% of applications contain critical vulnerabilities in an open source component [16]. Most companies do not have a reliable way of being notified when zero-day vulnerabilities 1 are found, or when patches are made available. This means that attack vectors in Open Source Software (OSS) exist longer than they should. This paper discusses the cause of OSS vulnerabilities, why they are a major issue, and how they may be mitigated. Conventional methods of detection are discussed along with novel approaches and research trends. A new conclusion is made that it may not be possible to replace expert human inspection of OSS although it can be effectively augmented with techniques such as machine learning, IDE plug-ins and repository linking to make OSS implementation and review less time intensive. Underpinning any technological advances should be better knowledge at the human level – development teams need trained, coached and improved so they can implement OSS more securely, know what vulnerabilities to look for and how to handle them. It is the use of this blended approach to detection which is key.
THE EFFECT OF REVIEWER ORIGIN ON BOOKING INTENTIONS IN TOURISM INDUSTRY: THE MODERATING ROLE OF REVIEW VALENCE

This study investigates the effect of reviewers’ origin on the consumers’ intentions for booking a room in a hotel by taking into consideration the possible moderating effect of review valence. An experimental design is implemented and the manipulated experimental conditions are identified as the reviewers’ origin (HomeRev, HostRev, UniRev,) and the review content (negative, positive and mixed). Findings of the study confirm the statistically significant relationship between review content and booking intentions. Positive and mixed content lead to higher booking intentions, when compared to negative content. However, exposure to pure positive reviews generates lower levels of booking intentions than mixed reviews containing both positive and negative reviews. The results also indicate that reviews of local customers (HomeRev) generate higher booking intentions compared to reviews generated by international (HostRev,) and unidentified customers (UniRev,). The relative differential effect of local reviewers on booking intentions is moderated by different levels of review valence.
Common echocardiographic abnormalities in Nigerians of different age groups.

BACKGROUND Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) is one of the most commonly performed cardiac investigations. It can provide comprehensive information about cardiac structure and function, helping to establish a diagnosis and guide therapy, and it is no longer the preserve of the specialist cardiology department. Previous studies on echocardiographic findings in our environment had documented valvular heart disease, hypertensive heart disease and congenital heart diseases as the commonest echocardiographic findings in Nigerians. AIMS The study aimed to provide an update on the common echocardiographic findings in different age groups in this part of the world, since some of the previous similar studies were done over a decade ago. MATERIALS AND METHODS We reviewed the echocardiogram reports of 608 consecutive patients done from July 2009 to October 2011 at a private echocardiographic laboratory in Enugu, South-East Nigeria. Data was analyzed for age, gender and echocardiographic findings. RESULTS The age range of the patients was from 3 days to 98 years with a mean age of 46.4 ± 21.4 years. The mean age of the males was 47.6 ± 21.3 years, while the mean age of the females was 45.2 ± 21.1 years. The commonest echocardiographic abnormality in children was atrial septal defect, while rheumatic heart disease was the commonest in adolescents and young adults. Left ventricular diastolic dysfunction and degenerative valvular diseases respectively were the commonest in the middle-aged and elderly populations in this study. CONCLUSION This study has reaffirmed rheumatic heart disease (predominantly mitral valve regurgitation) as the commonest cardiac abnormality in adolescents and young adults. Degenerative valvular diseases, left ventricular diastolic dysfunction, and atrial septal defects were the commonest abnormalities in the elderly, middle-aged population and children, respectively.
Small mammals in the diet of barn owls, Tyto alba (Aves: Strigiformes) along the mid-Araguaia river in central Brazil

We collected and analyzed 286 Barn owl, Tyto alba (Scopoli, 1769), pellets from two nests in different environments along the mid-Araguaia River in central Brazil. Our analyses revealed that these owls feed mainly on small mammals, especially rodents. Owls from the riverbanks at Fazenda Santa Fe had a more diverse diet, preying mainly on rodents that typically inhabit riparian grasslands - Holochilus sciureus Wagner, 1842 - and forests - Hylaeamys megacephalus (Fischer, 1814) and Oecomys spp. , which probably also occur in forest borders or clearings. On the other hand, owls from an agroecosystem at Fazenda Lago Verde preyed mostly on rodent species common in these agrarian fields, Calomys tocantinsi Bonvicino, Lima & Almeida, 2003. Additionally, we compared small mammal richness estimates based on the analysis of owl pellets with estimates from live-trapping in the same areas. Owl pellets revealed two rodent species undetected by live traps - Euryoryzomys sp. and Rattus rattus (Linnaeus, 1758) - and four rodent species were trapped, but not found in owl pellets - Oecomys roberti Thomas, 1904, Pseudoryzomys simplex (Winge, 1887), Rhipidomys ipukensis Rocha, B.M.A. Costa & L.P. Costa, 2011, and Makalata didelphoides (Desmarest, 1817). Traps yielded higher species richness, but these two methods complement each other for surveying small rodents.