Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Correlations Between Corporate Governance, Financial Performance, and Market Value

Correlations Between Corporate Governance, Financial Performance, and Market Value by Mohamed Darweesh MS, Zagazig University, 2005 BS, Zagazig University, 1990 Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Business Administration Walden University October 2015 Abstract Corporate governance can play a significant role in financial market stability and economic development. Corporate governance scholars have provided controversial results with respect to the relationships between corporate governance and both corporate financial performance and market value. Based on agency theory and institutionalCorporate governance can play a significant role in financial market stability and economic development. Corporate governance scholars have provided controversial results with respect to the relationships between corporate governance and both corporate financial performance and market value. Based on agency theory and institutional theory, the purpose of this correlational study was to investigate the relationship between corporate governance mechanisms, financial performance, and market value in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s 116 firms from 2010 to 2014. Financial performance was measured by return on assets and return on equity, while market value was measured by Tobin’s q. Corporate governance mechanisms involved in this study were board size, board independence, board committees, ownership structure, and executive compensation. The financial statements and corporate governance mechanisms collected from the websites of sampled firms and the Saudi stock market (Tadawul). The findings of multiple regression tests revealed a statistically significant relationship between corporate governance mechanisms and both corporate financial performance and market value. This study may contribute to social change by building confidence in the Saudi capital market and improving the lives of stakeholders and community in general. The results may help business leaders understand the influence of corporate governance on their firms’ success and the country’s growth. Academic researchers, investors, regulatory bodies, practitioners, and experts in the area of corporate governance may benefit as well. Correlations Between Corporate Governance, Financial Performance, and Market Value by Mohamed Darweesh MS, Zagazig University, 2005 BS, Zagazig University, 1990 Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Business Administration Walden University October 2015
The adoption of a twisted structure of importin-beta is essential for the protein-protein interaction required for nuclear transport.

Importin-beta is a nuclear transport factor which mediates the nuclear import of various nuclear proteins. The N-terminal 1-449 residue fragment of mouse importin-beta (impbeta449) possesses the ability to bidirectionally translocate through the nuclear pore complex (NPC), and to bind RanGTP. The structure of the uncomplexed form of impbeta449 has been solved at a 2.6 A resolution by X-ray crystallography. It consists of ten copies of the tandemly arrayed HEAT repeat and exhibits conformational flexibility which is involved in protein-protein interaction for nuclear transport. The overall conformation of the HEAT repeats shows that a twisted motion produces a significantly varied superhelical architecture from the previously reported structure of RanGTP-bound importin-beta. These conformational changes appear to be the sum of small conformational changes throughout the polypeptide. Such a flexibility, which resides in the stacked HEAT repeats, is essential for interaction with RanGTP or with NPCs. Furthermore, it was found that impbeta449 has a structural similarity with another nuclear migrating protein, namely beta-catenin, which is composed of another type of helix-repeated structure of ARM repeat. Interestingly, the essential regions for NPC translocation for both importin-beta and beta-catenin are spatially well overlapped with one another. This strongly indicates the importance of helix stacking of the HEAT or ARM repeats for NPC-passage.
Evaluation of Crop Insurance Choices for Cotton Producers under the 2014 Farm Bill

New crop insurance coverage offered by the 2014 Farm Bill will be available to cotton farmers beginning in 2015. Stacked Income Protection Plan (STAX) and Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO) are new crop insurance options, which are designed to protect farmers from shallow losses. STAX is only available for upland cotton producers, while SCO is available for all major farm program crops. The objective of this project is to assess the benefits of the new crop insurance offerings for cotton producers in the Texas High Plains. Representative dry land and mixed, irrigated and dry land farms were developed using consensus evaluations of panels of producers in two distinct areas of the High Plains. Our simulation analysis examined producer welfare benefits of alternative combinations of underlying yield or revenue insurance coverage and STAX or SCO. The results suggest that Revenue Protection combined with STAX is the optimal insurance selection for both risk neutral and risk averse producers.
The Accuracy of Intraoperative O-arm Images for the Assessment of Pedicle Screw Postion

Study Design. Human cadaveric study. Objective. The objective of the study was to determine the accuracy of intraoperative O-arm images in determining pedicle screw position using open dissection as the gold standard. Summary of Background Data. Pedicle screws are widely used in the treatment of various spinal disorders. Postoperative computed tomographic scans are the imaging gold standard to detect pedicle screw malposition. However, a second procedure is necessary if such malpositioned screws have to be revised. The O-arm is an intraoperative scanner that allows revision of a screw without having to return the patient to the operating room for a separate procedure. No previous studies have looked at the accuracy of intraoperative O-arm images in determining pedicle screw position. Methods. This factorial validation study utilized 9 cadavers in a comparison of intraoperative O-arm images and the dissection gold standard. Four hundred sixteen screws were inserted using 3-dimensional image (O-arm) guidance from C2 to S1. The screw positions were randomized into 3 groups: “IN” (fully contained within the pedicle), “OUT-lateral,” or “OUT-medial. ” After screw insertion, O-arm images were obtained and reviewed in a blinded fashion by 3 independent observers. Dissection identified the true position of the screws. Specificity, sensitivity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) were calculated using dissection results as the gold standard. The interobserver reliability was also determined. Results. The overall accuracy, specificity, sensitivity, PPV, and NPV of O-arm images for the thoracic and lumbar spine were 73%, 76%, 71%, 74%, and 72%, respectively. Accuracy of surgeon perception in the cervical spine was significantly less than in the thoracic and lumbosacral spine. There was substantial interobserver agreement between the 3 readers. Conclusion. Intraoperative O-arm images accurately detect significant pedicle screw violations in the thoracic and lumbosacral spine but are less accurate for the cervical spine.
Strategies of Australia’s leading not-for-profit housing providers: a national study and international comparison

This material was produced with funding from the Australian Government and the Australian state and territory governments. AHURI Limited gratefully acknowledges the financial and other support it has received from these governments, without which this work would not have been possible. AHURI comprises a network of university Research Centres across Australia. Research Centre contributions, both financial and in-kind, have made the completion of this report possible. The researchers would like to thank the 20 anonymous people from leading Australian not-for-profit housing organisations who comprised the panel members for their participation in this research project. Without their expert contributions and generous provision of their time, the project would have not been feasible. We are also most grateful to Professor David Mullins (University of Birmingham) for sharing his research method and for his guidance throughout the research process. Inclusion of the international comparison of developments in not-for-profit housing organisations was made possible through the expert assistance of colleagues in England (led by Mullins) and the Netherlands (led by Dr Nico Nieboer, Delft University of Technology). It is the substantial contributions of these researchers and their local colleagues that enabled us to present the findings on the positioning of housing associations in our respective countries. We would also like to thank Associate Professor Denny Meyer (Swinburne University of Technology) for her helpful statistical advice and the Centre for Social Impact (The University of New South Wales, The University of Western Australia and Swinburne University of Technology campuses) for their continuing interest in and support for our research on third sector housing. Our thanks also to the members of the project’s reference group (see Appendix 1) for their continuing advice and encouragement.
Nonlinear analysis of f/sub 0//2 loop oscillation of high power amplifiers

A novel nonlinear analysis of high power amplifier instability has been developed. This analysis method deals with a loop oscillation and presents the conditions for oscillation under large-signal operation by taking account of a mixing effect of FETs. Applying this analysis method to the high power amplifier instability that an output power decreases at some compression point where an f/sub 0//2-wave is observed, it has been found that this instability is caused by an f/sub 0//2 loop oscillation. In addition, it has been verified by analysis and measurement that the oscillation can be removed by employing an isolation resistor in a closed loop circuit. <<ETX>>
Novel UCHL1 mutations reveal new insights into ubiquitin processing

Recessive loss of function of the neuronal ubiquitin hydrolase UCHL1 has been implicated in early-onset progressive neurodegeneration (MIM no. 615491), so far only in one family. In this study a second family is characterized, and the functional consequences of the identified mutations in UCHL1 are explored. Three siblings developed childhood-onset optic atrophy, followed by spasticity and ataxia. Whole exome sequencing identified compound heterozygous variants in UCHL1, c.533G > A (p.Arg178Gln) and c.647C > A (p.Ala216Asp), cosegregating with the phenotype. Enzymatic activity of purified recombinant proteins analysed by ubiquitin hydrolase assays showed a 4-fold increased hydrolytic activity of the recombinant UCHL1 mutant Arg178Gln compared to wild type, whereas the Ala216Asp protein was insoluble. Structural 3D analysis of UCHL1 by computer modelling suggests that Arg178 is a rate-controlling residue in catalysis which is partly abolished in the Arg178Gln mutant and, consequently, the Arg178Gln mutant increases the enzymatic turnover. UCHL1 protein levels in fibroblasts measured by targeted mass spectrometry showed a total amount of UCHL1 in control fibroblasts about 4-fold higher than in the patients. Hence, studies of the identified missense variants reveal surprisingly different functional consequences as the insoluble Ala216Asp variant leads to loss of function, whereas the Arg178Gln leads to increased enzyme activity. The reported patients have remarkably preserved cognition, and we propose that the increased enzyme activity of the Arg178Gln variant offers a protective effect on cognitive function. This study establishes the importance of UCHL1 in neurodegeneration, provides new mechanistic insight about ubiquitin processing, and underlines the complexity of the different roles of UCHL1.
GENETIC VARIABILITY OF TRYPANOSOMATIDS ISOLATED FROM PHYTOPHAGOUS HEMIPTERA DEFINED BY MORPHOLOGICAL, BIOCHEMICAL, AND MOLECULAR TAXONOMIC MARKERS

In the present study, we investigated the genetic variability among 49 new isolates of trypanosomatids from phytophagous Hemiptera by means of morphological characters, growth features, and biochemical (enzymes of ornithine–arginine cycle) and molecular markers (based on spliced-leader, and ribosomal genes). From 402 phytophagous insects dissected and examined for the presence of trypanosomatids, 228 species belonging to Pyrrhocoridae, Coreidae, Lygaeidae, and Pentatomidae families harbored trypanosomatids in their salivary glands, or digestive tubes. Among these insects, 211 carried promastigotes and only 17 had choanomastigote forms. The results show a strong association among morphology, growth features, and biochemical and molecular markers and reveal the genetic diversity of the isolates, which were assigned to Crithidia, Phytomonas, and Leptomonas; we found genetic polymorphism within all these genera, thus indicating high genetic variability among trypanosomatids from phytophagous insects.
Fertility Trends and Prospects in Australia and other Industrialised Countries

Marital fertility in Australia has been falling, with occasional halts and reversals, for a century. The trend in overall fertility has been rendered more complex by changes in marriage patterns. The original fertility decline may not have been triggered by a mortality decline but instead may have initiated one. The paper analyses the unprecedentedly steep fall in fertility after 1971 and the reversal from the mid-1970s of marriage trends which was so sudden as to wipe out in three years the entire movement towards younger marriage over the preceding thirty years. Fertility and fertility control trends are compared with other industrialised countries, and prospects for future natural increase and immigration are assessed.
Strategies for the study of meiosis in rye

We describe how we are furthering our understanding of meiosis in rye (Secale cereale L.) using a combination of cytogenetic and molecular biological approaches. Fluorescent in situ hybridisation, electron microscopy of synaptonemal complexes, sequencing of meiosis-specific genes, and the immunolocalisation of recombinogenic proteins are being combined to build up phenotypic “identikits” of wild type, asynaptic mutants sy1 and sy9, and desynaptic mutant sy10. From this information, we review the status of our current understanding of the genetic control of meiosis in rye, and consider strategies for determining more precisely the interrelationships between meiosis-specific genes and their products.
Sports related injuries in Scottish adolescents aged 11-15.

OBJECTIVES: To measure the age and sex distribution of self reported sports and leisure injuries in a 12 month retrospective recall period among a representative national sample of Scottish adolescents, and to examine the characteristics (gender, age, handedness, and level of sports participation) of sports related injuries in relation to injuries sustained during other activities. DESIGN/SETTING: Self completion questionnaire survey administered in schools during April-June 1994. SUBJECTS: 4710 pupils aged 11, 13, and 15 years drawn from a representative sample of 270 classes with returns from 224 classes (83% completion rate). RESULTS: 42.1% of the sample reported a medically attended injury. These were significantly more frequent among boys but there were no significant age differences in overall frequency of injury. Sport related injuries accounted for 32.2% of all medically attended injuries. As with all injuries, frequency was greater in boys than girls at all ages, and there are differences in the pattern of lesions in sports and nonsports injuries. Lower limb injuries were more frequent than upper limb injury in sports (57.6 v 23.9%), whereas there were no differences in non-sports injuries (31.5 v 31.3%). Age and handedness differences in sports injury rates were also identified. High sports participation was significantly associated with a higher risk of injury in general and sports related injury in particular. CONCLUSION: Age, gender, handedness, and level of sports participation have been shown to be implicated in differential risk of sports related injury. Reducing sports injury among adolescents should be a priority, but research into the injury profiles of different sports is needed before detailed injury prevention strategies can be developed.
Basaloid follicular hamartoma: three cases with localized and systematized unilateral lesions

Two patients having a localized plaque of alopecia on the scalp, and one with a systematized unilateral epithelial nevus exhibited a histologically distinctive form of follicular hamartoma. In the affected areas individual hair follicles were replaced, or were associated with solid strands and branching cords of undifferentiated basaloid cells, filled in between by fibrous stroma resembling either a miniature premalignant fibroepithelial tumor of Pinkus, a small trichoepithelioma, or a basal cell epithelioma. The relation between these 3 patients and cases reported as linear unilateral basal cell nevus with comedones and generalized hair follicle hamartoma associated with myasthenia gravis is discussed.
Complex Effects on In Vivo Visual Responses by Specific Projections from Mouse Cortical Layer 6 to Dorsal Lateral Geniculate Nucleus

Understanding the role of corticothalamic projections in shaping visual response properties in the thalamus has been a longstanding challenge in visual neuroscience. Here, we take advantage of the cell-type specificity of a transgenic mouse line, the GN220-Ntsr1 Cre line, to manipulate selectively the activity of a layer 6 (L6) corticogeniculate population while recording visual responses in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN). Although driving Ntsr1 projection input resulted in reliable reduction in evoked spike count of dLGN neurons, removing these same projections resulted in both increases and decreases in visually evoked spike count. Both increases and decreases are contrast dependent and the sign is consistent over the full range of contrasts. Tuning properties suggest wide convergence of Ntsr1 cells with similar spatial and temporal frequency tuning onto single dLGN cells and we did not find evidence that Ntsr1 cells sharpen spatiotemporal filtering. These nonspecific changes occur independently of changes in burst frequency, indicating that Ntsr1 corticogeniculate activity can result in both net excitation and net inhibition.
Studies of Growth of Australian Infants

There is disagreement about what is normal growth in infancy. This is an important issue because "normal" growth charts are used extensively in clinical pediatrics and in public health work to assess the nutritional status of individuals, groups, communities, and countries. There is also disagreement about the relevance of widely used British and American growth charts to other populations. This applies in Australia where the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) is currently considering whether to undertake a nationwide study to determine local "standards" or whether international values can be used. In some countries, local and international standards are used, sometimes applied to different sections of the population. There is also some controversy about the dietary patterns and nutrient intakes required to achieve normal growth in early life. In Australia, one of the most basic tools used by dietitians and nutritionists to assess adequate nutrient intakes is the dietary allowances for use in Australia (2). These are used as reference points for an initial assessment of the adequacy of diets of individuals or groups within the community. They were referred to in our own work, for example, when we claimed that the dietary patterns of aborigines (3) or children of migrants (4) were "inadequate" or "unsatisfactory" when compared with these allowances. They are also used as a basis for designing diets for individuals with a wide variety of problems, including obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and other metabolic disorders, as well as for people receiving institutional foods. The Australian dietary allowances have been revised several times, the latest revision being in 1971 (2). Many of the recommendations in these Australian allowances were based on interpretations of the FAO/WHO expert group reports (5) on requirements for some nutrients. The values for food energy for infants and for children aged 2 to 11 years were obtained from Australian data on food
Effect of flax addition on the flavor profile and acceptability of bagels.

UNLABELLED Bakery products containing flaxseed, a rich source of alpha linolenic acid (ALA), may provide health benefits. However, the effect of adding flaxseed, especially in the high amounts required for use as the food supplement in clinical trials (23% by weight of the raw ingredients), may affect the flavor characteristics and consumer acceptability. Sensory attributes of bagels containing 30 g of milled flaxseed were evaluated by a 9 member trained panel using a descriptive test and by 89 participants using a consumer test. Grain/flax aroma and flavor were significantly higher for the flax bagels compared to the nonflax bagels. The cinnamon raisin bagel had significantly lower grain/flax aroma and flavor and significantly higher sweet aroma and taste compared to the plain and sunflower sesame types. Older consumers rated the appearance, color, and flavor of the bagels significantly higher than the younger consumers possibly leading to higher compliance in clinical studies for this age group. Bagels with flax showed a significantly lower mean value for flavor acceptability, overall acceptability, and frequency of eating compared to bagels without flax. Appearance, color, and texture acceptability showed no significant differences. The cinnamon raisin bagel had significantly higher flavor acceptance compared to sunflower sesame and plain bagels. In conclusion, for bagels containing 6 g ALA in the form of milled flaxseed, cinnamon raisin appears to be a promising flavoring alternative for ALA fortification for use in clinical trials or as part of the daily diet. PRACTICAL APPLICATION Consumers are seeking functional foods that contain omega-3 fatty acids. Bagels made with 23% milled flaxseed (approximately 2 times the amount in regular flax baked products) provided 6 g ALA, an amount high enough to test the efficacy of ALA in human subjects without causing gastrointestinal distress. This study showed that flaxseed aroma and flavor were detected in fortified compared to nonfortified bagels but bagels with this high flaxseed amount were still acceptable with the addition of cinnamon raisin flavoring. Commercial bakeries can use these results to formulate healthy, tasty, and convenient products.
Determination and Comparison of Some Elements in Different Types of Orange Juices and Investigation of Health Effects

— Fruit juices play important roles in human health as being a key part of nutrition. Juice and nectar are two categories of drinks with so many variations for consumers, regardless of age, lifestyle and taste preferences, which they can find their favorites. Juices contain 100% pulp when pulp content of ‘nectar’ changes between 25%-50%. In this study, potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), and phosphorus (P) contents in orange juice and nectar is determined for conscious consumption. For this purpose inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) is used to find out potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), and phosphorus (P) contents in orange juices and nectar. Furthermore, the daily intake of elements from orange juice and nectar that affects human health is also investigated. From the results of experiments K, Mg and P contents are found in orange juice as 1351; 73,25; 89,27 ppm and in orange nectar as 986; 33,76; 51,30 respectively.