Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Strategic consistent messages in cross-tool campaigns: effects on brand image and brand attitude

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the synergistic effects derived from an integrated marketing communication (IMC) strategy following strategic consistency. We compare a strategic consistency-based communication campaign with a message repetition strategy. Specifically, we focus on the effects that IMC has on brand image, in terms of number and favourability of brand associations. On the basis of the theoretical postulates of the Information Integration Theory and the Elaboration Likelihood Model, we propose that a cross-tool campaign that makes use of consistent messages is more effective in building brand images than a repetition strategy in which the consumer is exposed to the same message twice. To explore this research question, we conducted an experimental study with a sample of 198 individuals, and two communication tools (advertising and sponsorship) whose messages have been integrated using a consistency criterion. The results suggest that, compared with a message repetition strategy, an integrated campaign leads to more positive effects on the number and favourability of brand associations as well as on brand attitude.
Impact and Challenges of Information Communication Technology Adoption in the Tanzanian Banking Sector

The banking sector across the globe is embracing ICT technologies and using as part of business strategy for expansion, revenue increase, extension of customer network and creating competitive advantage among banking institutions . This paper is an effort to investigate the impacts and challenges of ICT adoption in the Tanzanian banks. The population is forty eight respondents, four managers were selected from twelve banks and out of the 48 questionnaires distributed, 42 were collected i.e 87.5% response, purposive sampling was used and the data collected was analyzed using SPSS, the researcher employed use of mean and standard deviation. The study found out that there is a need for bankers to educate public in the use of online banking products, invest more into ICT infrastrure and the government to reduce tax of ICT gadgets. This study recommends that individual technologies need to be investigated, impact of adopting other individual technologies, profitability and performance issues should also be investigated to open up and clear the way for policy and business decisions.
Driving to Drink: Tax Avoidance Along the Washington-Oregon Border

This paper uses store-level data on consumer liquor revenues and volume sales in Oregon to estimate the effect of state tax differentials on consumer demand. Liquor privatization in Washington led to higher prices from new taxes. I calculate the impact of tax incidence on tax avoidance using variation in store proximity to the Washington-Oregon (WA-OR) border. By calculating driving distances between Oregon liquor stores and border crossings, I find that stores closest to the WA-OR border experienced an additional 20 percent increase in revenues (1,665 additional liters) relative to interior stores, and that avoidance behavior dissipates monotonically from the Washington-Oregon state line.
Dependency, chronic conditions and pain in seniors.

OBJECTIVES This article presents the prevalence of dependency and selected chronic conditions among Canadians aged 65 or older living in households. Associations between chronic conditions and dependency in activities of daily living (ADL) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) are examined. DATA SOURCE Estimates are based on data from the 2003 Canadian Community Health Survey. ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES Cross-tabulations were used to estimate the prevalence of ADL/IADL dependency and chronic conditions. Associations between chronic conditions and dependency were studied using multiple logistic regression models. MAIN RESULTS The prevalence of ADL/IADL dependency and chronic conditions increased with age. IADL dependency was more common than ADL dependency. When chronic pain was taken into account, associations between ADL dependency and arthritis/rheumatism, diabetes and urinary incontinence were no longer significant, and the association between IADL dependency and diabetes lost significance. Regardless of chronic pain, Alzheimer's disease or other dementia and the effects of stroke were significantly related to dependency.
Morphology of the antennae of two species of biting midge: Culicoides impunctatus (goetghebuer) and Culicoides nubeculosus (Meigen) (Diptera, Ceratopogonidae)

Scanning and transmission electron microscopy of the antennae of Culicoides impunctatus and Culicoides nubeculosus show that males and females share five sensillum types. Sensilla chaetica resemble mechanoreceptors, each innervated by a single neurone whose dendrite terminates distally in a tubular body: the arrangement of sensilla on male antennae suggests that females are located by sound. The antennae have both sharp‐ and blunt‐tipped sensilla trichodea, sharp‐tipped sensilla on only the distal third and blunttipped sensilla on all subsegments. These sensilla are typical of olfactory receptors, having multiporous walls and being innervated by a number of neurones with bifurcating dendrites ascending the hair shafts. Sensilla basiconica occur on the distal five subsegments of the female antenna and the distal three subsegments of the male antenna. Sensilla coeloconica always occur on subsegment one and sometimes on a number of other subsegments, depending on sex and species. Both basiconic and coeloconic sensilla have double walls and unbranched dendrites and may be either olfactory or thermo‐ and/or hygroreceptors. All antennae except those of male C. impunctatus antennae have sensilla ampullacea, apparently deep‐seated olfactory or thermoreceptors. Small peg sensilla fitting the description of contact chemoreceptors occur only at the tip of the male antenna. © 1992 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The interaction of PRC2 with RNA or chromatin is mutually antagonistic

Polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) modifies chromatin to maintain genes in a repressed state during development. PRC2 is primarily associated with CpG islands at repressed genes and also possesses RNA binding activity. However, the RNAs that bind PRC2 in cells, the subunits that mediate these interactions, and the role of RNA in PRC2 recruitment to chromatin all remain unclear. By performing iCLIP for PRC2 in comparison with other RNA binding proteins, we show here that PRC2 binds nascent RNA at essentially all active genes. Although interacting with RNA promiscuously, PRC2 binding is enriched at specific locations within RNAs, primarily exon–intron boundaries and the 3′ UTR. Deletion of other PRC2 subunits reveals that SUZ12 is sufficient to establish this RNA binding profile. Contrary to prevailing models, we also demonstrate that the interaction of PRC2 with RNA or chromatin is mutually antagonistic in cells and in vitro. RNA degradation in cells triggers PRC2 recruitment to CpG islands at active genes. Correspondingly, the release of PRC2 from chromatin in cells increases RNA binding. Consistent with this, RNA and nucleosomes compete for PRC2 binding in vitro. We propose that RNA prevents PRC2 recruitment to chromatin at active genes and that mutual antagonism between RNA and chromatin underlies the pattern of PRC2 chromatin association across the genome.
Can Short Sellers Constrain Opportunistic Non-GAAP Reporting?

Prior studies suggest short sellers can monitor and limit financial reporting opportunism in conventional GAAP earnings. In this study, we explore how short sellers are related to the quality of non-GAAP earnings. Results of difference-in-differences estimations indicate short sale pressure significantly mitigates abusive reporting of non-GAAP earnings. Cross-sectional tests suggest short sellers influence the quality of non-GAAP earnings primarily through two channels: (a) increased costs of misreporting and (b) direct monitoring. Our study has strong policy implications for non-GAAP earnings regulations, and contributes to both the literature on earnings management and the policy debates on short sales constraints.
ATYPICAL MYCOBACTERIA IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA.

Western Australia occupies the western third of the Australian continent and has a population of just under 800,000. The present investigators have studied the occurrence in this population of so-called "atypical" or "unclassified" 2 mycobacteria from 1959 to 1963. Specimens for investigation for mycobacteria are sent from all parts of the State to a single, central laboratory; and all bacteriologic results are entered on the State Tuberculosis Register, which contains a subsection dealing with atypical mycobacteria. Since 1955, Kovacs has identified atypical mycobacteria of the four Runyon groups from human sources in this State (1, 2). Concurrently, a fall in tuberculosis incidence and mortality has not been accompanied by a parallel fall in tuberculin reactor rates (3). Results of simultaneous skin testing with various PPD antigens have suggested that there is much cross-reaction from contact with these mycobacteria ( 4, 5). Usually, recovery of these organisms from the human or animal body indicates their presence as commensals or saprophytes. They can, however, be pathogenic for man; and, in a very few areas, such as the South-East of the United States, Queensland, and Western Australia, disease caused by them occurs endemically (6-9).
Purchasing and supply chain management practices in Botswana

Discusses supply chain management practices, with emphasis on purchasing, in Botswana (a developing country). Focuses on problems facing business operations and how to improve the situation. Presents the views of purchasing personnel from public and private organizations and of students taking purchasing and supply chain management courses. Discovers that purchasing has not been recognized as a profession, which has led to lack of motivation in purchasing sections’ personnel. Further, purchasing policies on external relationships and image are non‐existent in most organizations. Claims that managers need to change their thinking about the purchasing and supply function – to see it as strategic and not clerical; and purchasing and supplies personnel require training in supply chain management.
Dusp6 (Mkp3) is a negative feedback regulator of FGF-stimulated ERK signaling during mouse development

Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways are major mediators of extracellular signals that are transduced to the nucleus. MAPK signaling is attenuated at several levels, and one class of dual-specificity phosphatases, the MAPK phosphatases (MKPs), inhibit MAPK signaling by dephosphorylating activated MAPKs. Several of the MKPs are themselves induced by the signaling pathways they regulate, forming negative feedback loops that attenuate the signals. We show here that in mouse embryos, Fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFRs) are required for transcription of Dusp6, which encodes MKP3, an extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)-specific MKP. Targeted inactivation of Dusp6 increases levels of phosphorylated ERK, as well as the pERK target, Erm, and transcripts initiated from the Dusp6 promoter itself. Finally, the Dusp6 mutant allele causes variably penetrant, dominant postnatal lethality, skeletal dwarfism, coronal craniosynostosis and hearing loss; phenotypes that are also characteristic of mutations that activate FGFRs inappropriately. Taken together, these results show that DUSP6 serves in vivo as a negative feedback regulator of FGFR signaling and suggest that mutations in DUSP6 or related genes are candidates for causing or modifying unexplained cases of FGFR-like syndromes.
B2B e‐marketplace: an e‐marketing framework for B2B commerce

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a clear understanding of the performance of business‐to‐business (B2B) e‐marketplace in conducting e‐marketing in the global business environment. The proposed framework is intended to be used as a guide for B2B firms especially small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) who wish to adopt a proactive approach in the use of information and communication technology for business efficiency and competitive advantage, and those who wish to explore the internet technologies for marketing activities.Design/methodology/approach – Literature from the B2B e‐marketplaces and operations of e‐marketing fields were analysed, and the findings were synthesised to develop a preliminary conceptual model of e‐marketing. The conceptual model was tested empirically through an online survey from various industries in China, Malaysia, and Singapore.Findings – With significant online and offline publications from both academia and industry, there is a growing awareness of the cont.
An examination of cross‐border shopping behaviour in South‐East Europe

Purpose – This paper examines consumer motivations for shopping abroad and explores the role of demographic versus socio‐psychological factors in explaining the phenomenon of cross‐border shopping.Design/methodology/approach – Empirical data were collected via personal interviews from adult consumers living in Croatia and Serbia and Montenegro. The research instrument consisted of construct measures adapted from previous studies and open‐ended questions related to demographics and consumer motives for cross‐border shopping trips.Findings – A discriminant analysis of cross‐border out‐shoppers and domestic in‐shoppers in the two countries confirmed the unstable effect of demographic variables on out‐shopping behaviour and established the significant role of economic patriotism in consumer decision making. Differences in the results across the two countries indicate that a contextual approach should be adopted in international out‐shopping studies.Practical implications – Countries with high level of out‐sho.
The governance of Italian asset management companies: some considerations

Asset management is a key sector of the Italian financial system, and its corporate governance (CG) is a key issue. This article investigates CG of Italian asset management companies (AMCs) by observing a sample of banking and independent AMCs from 2006 to 2010. The purpose of our research is to establish whether the governance structure of Italian AMCs influences products and profitability. We use the seemingly unrelated regression methodology. We find that the CG system may affect mutual fund categories offered by Italian AMCs. Moreover, the mutual funds category may contribute to AMC profitability. Our results have interesting operating implications concerning the Italian asset management market, characterised by a potential conflict of interest. A better CG structure of asset managers could contribute to improving their performances and reducing commissions charged to clients.
The Impact of Environmental Uncertainty Perceptions, Decision-Maker Characteristics and Work Environment Characteristics on the Perceived Usefulness of Marketing Information Systems (MkIS): A Conceptual Framework

This paper discusses potential relationships between contextual factors and Marketing Information Systems (MkIS) design. MkIS design is defined in terms of the perceived usefulness of several information characteristics, which may be associated with a marketing information system. The paper suggests that MkIS design research should consider a range of contextual variables drawn from the organisational behaviour, behavioural decision-making and personality/cognitive psychology literatures. Drawing on empirical results from three sets of literature and from studies of information systems design (particularly management and accounting information systems design), the authors present a framework for exploring the design of a MkIS.
Effect of Inspiratory Flow on Methacholine Challenge in Children

Regulation of inspiratory flow alters the outcomes of the methacholine (MHC) challenge in adults and cough receptor sensitivity in children. The effect of inspiratory flow on the reproducibility of the MHC challenge in children is unknown. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of inspiratory flow alteration on the repeatabilty of the MHC challenge in children with and without asthma. Twenty‐five children undertook the MHC challenge on three different days by using a dosimeter connected to a setup that allowed regulation of inspiratory flow and pattern. Children were randomized to commence the challenges at 20 or 60 L/min, and the last challenge was performed at 20 L/min. The within‐subject standard deviation, 95% range for change, and doubling dose for the differing inspiratory flow (20 vs. 60 L/min) was more than twice that of when inspiratory flow was maintained at 20 L/min for both occasions. The range of the “limits of agreement” of the Bland and Altman plot was smaller when inspiratory flow was constant. For short‐term comparative individual studies in children, inspiratory flow should be regulated. Laboratories and research measuring change in airway hyperrepsonsiveness to MHC should determine and report reproducibility indices of the challenge so airway hyperresponsiveness changes can be interpreted meaningfully.
Gains and pains from the open innovation framework

While firms increasingly adopt open innovation, little is known about whether firms gain or lose from this innovation approach. Motivated by this research gap in the literature, the thesis explores the antecedents and performance implications of open innovation strategies, particularly collaboration and contractual forms of relationships for innovation (i.e. innovation cooperation and R&D outsourcing/external R&D). The thesis is empirical and relates the various results to the data used. The first one with German Community Innovation Survey (CIS), the second one with Danish CIS and the third one with the patent enhanced German CIS. The empirical analyses suggest that a value-enhancing objective rather than a cost-minimization purpose is the main factor that stimulates companies to engage in open innovation strategies. The research also reveals that firms engage in various innovation strategies simultaneously (i.e. international external R&D, innovation cooperation partnerships and internal R&D), but they fail to combine these instruments successfully for product innovation, implying that the single innovation strategy is performing better than combining different knowledge sourcing strategies in open innovation. Furthermore, the thesis provides evidence that sourcing R&D inputs from a domestic R&D provider can be a risky strategy when a firm aims to generate breakthrough product innovations. Instead, the firm should seek to acquire knowledge inputs from international marketplaces. The research also indicates that those firms outsourcing R&D activities are more likely to generate inventions than their counterparts that do not invest in this R&D strategy. However, this positive performance implication of R&D outsourcing does not appear to hold for invention quality.
Does Surplus Sharing Increase Risk-Taking in a Corporate Defined Benefit Pension Plan?

This paper studies the surplus-sharing effects on the risk-taking of a corporate defined benefit (DB) pension plan. The focus is on the influence of the participants’ proportion of surplus and of the relative weight of equityholders to participants. We prove that participants’ risk-taking increases due to surplus sharing and when decreasing the participants’ proportion of surplus. Numerical results show that surplus sharing makes also equityholders less risk averse and that equityholders’ risk-taking in general increases when increasing the participants’ proportion of surplus. We prove that, in the portfolio considering both participants’ and equityholders’ interests, increasing the weight of equityholders to participants decreases risk-taking when the participants’ proportion of surplus or the funding level is low. The numerical analysis also shows that conflicts of interest between participants and equityholders are common and that in order to ensure that the plan’s risk-taking is never very high, the relative weight of equityholders to participants should be high.
Anatomical variation of the azygos vein in human cadavers

Thirty embalmed adult human cadavers irrespective of age, sex and cause of death, were selected for this study over a period of one year to determine the azygos vein formation and drainage patterns. This study revealed four varieties regarding azygos vein formation. In twenty two cases (73.3%), the azygos vein formed by the confluence of the right subcostal and right ascending lumbar vein. It formed by the right subcostal vein with a contribution from the inferior vena cava (IVC) in three cases (10.0%) while, it formed by the right and left subcostal veins in three cases (10.0%) and in two cases (6.7%) formed by the right subcostal vein only. Moreover, in twenty three cases (76.67%), the azygos vein showed usual course and tributaries. Five cases (16.67%) revealed midline azygos vein with independent left lower eight posterior intercostal and subcostal veins. One case (3.33%) showed (H) shape azygos system. Independent double azygos veins were found in one case (3.33%). Based on the results, the azygos vein can take different developmental variations. Such variations are important in mediastinal surgery, imperative for reporting radiologists and have clinical importance. Variations in the formation and drainage pattern of the azygos vein are not clearly described in the literature. In this study the possible causes of these types of variations are discussed in view of the embryological development.
Quantitative imaging of murine osteoarthritic cartilage by phase-contrast micro-computed tomography.

OBJECTIVE The mouse is an optimal model organism in which gene-environment interactions can be used to study the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis (OA). The gold standard for arthritis research in mice is based on histopathology and immunohistochemistry, which are labor-intensive, prone to sampling bias and technical variability, and limited in throughput. The aim of this study was to develop a new technique that assesses mouse cartilage by integrating quantitative volumetric imaging techniques. METHODS A novel mouse model of OA was generated by cruciate ligament transection (CLT) and evaluated by histopathology and immunohistochemistry. Knee joint specimens were then imaged using a new technique that combines high-resolution micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) and phase-contrast optics followed by quantitative analyses. A comparative analysis was also performed in a previously established mouse model of OA generated by destabilization of the medial meniscus (DMM). RESULTS Phase-contrast micro-CT achieved cellular resolution of chondrocytes and quantitative assessment of parameters such as articular cartilage volume and surface area. In mouse models of OA generated by either CLT or DMM, we showed that phase-contrast micro-CT distinguished control and OA cartilage by providing quantitative measures with high reproducibility and minimal variability. Features of OA at the cellular or tissue level could also be observed in images generated by phase-contrast micro-CT. CONCLUSION We established an imaging technology that comprehensively assessed and quantified the 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional changes of articular cartilage. Application of this technology will facilitate the rapid and high-throughput assessment of genetic and therapeutic models of OA in mice.