Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
House of Debt

Many claim that the anemic economic recovery since the Great Recession is because of the severity of the downturn, but others believe that the US economy has been in a period of secular stagnation for several years, masked by easy access to credit that has distorted economic reality. Various causes of the stagnation include the substitution of capital for labor, the increased productivity of capital, reduced capital expenditures relative to market capitalization, and most importantly, greater income inequality. A potential consequence of the income inequality is that the wealthy do not spend as large of a proportion of their income, which puts stress on financial stability and economic growth.
Neurological Complications Following Adult Lung Transplantation

The full spectrum of neurologic complications and their impact on survival in lung recipients has not been reported. A retrospective cohort review of the Mayo Clinic Lung Transplant Registry (1988–2008) was performed to determine the range of neurologic complications in a cohort of adult lung recipients. Cox regression models were used to assess risk factors for neurological complications and death posttransplant. One hundred and twenty lung transplant recipients (53% women, median age at transplantation 53 years, range 21–73, median survival 4.8 years) were identified, of whom 95 had a neurological complication posttransplantation (median time to complication 0.8 years). Neurological complications were severe in 46 patients (requiring hospitalization or urgent care and evaluation) and were most often perioperative stroke or encephalopathy. Age predicted neurological complications of any type, whereas lung allocation score, bilateral lung transplantation, sex, underlying lung disease, elevated hemoglobin A1C, renal insufficiency and smoking history did not. Neurological complications of any severity (HR 4.3, 95% CI 2.2–8.6, p < 0.001) and high severity (HR 7.2, 95% CI 3.5–14.6, p < 0.001) were associated with increased risk of death. Neurological complications are common after lung transplantation, affecting 92% of recipients within 10 years. Severe neurologic complications are also common, affecting 53% of recipients within 10 years.
Phosphorylation of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae equivalent of ribosomal protein S6 has no detectable effect on growth

The phosphorylation of mammalian ribosomal protein S6 is affected by a variety of agents, including growth factors and tumor promoters, as well as by expressed oncogenes. Its potential role in the regulation of protein synthesis has been the object of much study. We have developed strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in which the phosphorylatable serines of the equivalent ribosomal protein (S10) were converted to alanines by site-directed mutagenesis. The S10 of such cells is not phosphorylated. Comparison of these cells with the parental cells, whose genomes differ by only six nucleotides, revealed no differences in the lag phase or logarithmic phase of a growth cycle, in growth on different carbon sources, in sporulation, or in sensitivity to heat shock. We conclude that in S. cerevisiae the phosphorylation of ribosomal protein S10 may play no role in regulating the synthesis of proteins. This conclusion leads one to ask whether certain protein phosphorylations are simply the adventitious, if easily observable, result of the imperfect specificity of one or another protein kinase.
Corporate Governance and Earnings Management in Family-Controlled Companies

The corporate governance literature advances the idea that certain aspects of a board of directors’ structure improve the monitoring of managerial decisions. Among these decisions are a manager’s policies about managing earnings. Prior studies have shown that earnings management in widely held public companies is less prevalent when there is a high level of board independence. However, there is less evidence regarding the effectiveness of board independence on earnings management in family-controlled companies. This issue is particularly interesting as such companies are susceptible to various types of agency concerns. It is the purpose of this study to shed light on the earnings management issue in family-controlled companies characterized by potentially lower board independence and a higher risk of collusion. In this study, board independence is estimated by two parameters: (1) proportion of independent directors on the board; and (2) lack of chief executive officer (CEO)–board chairman duality function. Our empirical results provide evidence that the impact of board independence on earnings management is indeed weaker in family-controlled companies. The same result also holds for the lack of CEO– board chairman duality function. Such effects become stronger in cases in which the CEO is a member of the controlling family.
Cocaine Addiction and Family Dysfunction: A Case-Control Study in Southern Brazil

Family-related factors play a crucial role in the onset, development, and maintenance of drug misuse and addiction. To investigate the hypothesis that families with a cocaine addicted son display more dysfunction than control families, we applied the Personal Authority in the Family System and the Self-Report Measure of Family Functioning to 67 case triads (child–father–mother) in which the son was an inpatient with a primary diagnosis of cocaine abuse or dependence and to 67 matched control triads from the community (Pelotas, Brazil) in 2000. Case children, mothers, and fathers were significantly more likely to present nuclear family triangulation than their matched control subjects. In addition, case triads had a significantly greater chance of perceiving family functioning as enmeshment. These results suggest both structural and functional differences in these families. We argue for the need of interventions in the family as a whole and for further research in this area.
DELIVERY GUARANTEES AND THE INTERDEPENDENCE OF MARKETING AND OPERATIONS

Delivery guarantees are an important element in a customer satisfaction program. When setting delivery guarantees, a firm must consider customer expectations as well as operational constraints. We develop a profit‐maximization model in which a firm's sales organization, with incomplete information on operations' status, solicits orders and quotes delivery dates. If obtained, orders are processed in a make‐to‐order facility, after which revenue is received, minus tardiness penalty if the delivery was later than quoted. We specify conditions for an optimal log‐linear decision rule and provide exact expressions for its effect on arrival rate, mean processing time, and mean cycle time.
Philosophical Premises for African Economic Development: Sen's Capability Approach

II ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . iv TABLE OF CONTENTS . v LIST OF TABLES . ix LIST OF FIGURES . ix LIST OF MAPS . ix ACCRONYMS . x CHAPTER ONE: GENERAL INTRODUCTION: BACKGROUND AND METHOLOGY . 1 1.1 Background: The issue at stake and the purpose of the study . 1 1.2 Cultural values in relation to economic development . 2 1.3 To what extent have cultural values been neglected in development plans: LPA and NEPAD? 4 1.3. 1 The Lagos Plan of Action (1980) . 4 1.3. 2 The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (2001) . 5 1.4 An overview of theories of economic development that informed Africa’s economic development . 7 1.4. 1 Dependency theory . 7 1.1.2 Neoclassical economic theory: Economic counter-revolution . 10 1.5 Development theories in relation to African development plans . 11 1.6 The problem . 12 1.7 Research objectives . 13 1.8 Methodological assumptions . 13 1.9 Data gathering . 16 1.10 Structure of chapters . 18 1.11 Conclusion . 20 -
Scintillation noise power spectrum and its impact on high redshift 21-cm observations

Visibility scintillation resulting from wave propagation through the turbulent ionosphere can be an important source of noise at low radio frequencies (ν ≲ 200 MHz). Many low-frequency experiments are underway to detect the power spectrum of brightness temperature fluctuations of the neutral-hydrogen 21-cm signal from the Epoch of Reionization (EoR: 12 ≳ z ≳ 7, 100 ≲ ν ≲ 175 MHz). In this paper, we derive scintillation noise power spectra in such experiments while taking into account the effects of typical data processing operations such as self-calibration and Fourier synthesis. We find that for minimally redundant arrays such as LOFAR and MWA, scintillation noise is of the same order of magnitude as thermal noise, has a spectral coherence dictated by stretching of the snapshot uv-coverage with frequency, and thus is confined to the well-known wedge-like structure in the cylindrical (two-dimensional) power spectrum space. Compact, fully redundant (d_(core) ≲ r_F ≈ 300 m at 150 MHz) arrays such as HERA and SKA-LOW (core) will be scintillation noise dominated at all baselines, but the spatial and frequency coherence of this noise will allow it to be removed along with spectrally smooth foregrounds.
Insider Trading and Firm Performance Following Open Market Share Repurchase Announcements

The long-run performance of equity securities subsequent to announcements of open market repurchases (OMR) remains a contentious topic. In this paper we propose the “dichotomous expectations hypothesis” which posits that insider trading following share repurchase announcements reveals private information concerning the future operating performance of announcing firms. In particular, insider abnormal purchases (abnormal sales) should predict an improvement (decline) in operating performance that leads to higher (lower) long-run stock returns. Our hypothesis offers a credible economic link between insider trading and subsequent long-run stock performance through the intervening variable of operating performance. The empirical results show consistency with this linkage.
Multiple co‐infections (Mycoplasma, Chlamydia, human herpes virus‐6) in blood of chronic fatigue syndrome patients: association with signs and symptoms

Previously we and others found that a majority of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) patients showed evidence of systemic mycoplasmal infections, and their blood tested positive using a polymerase chain reaction assay for at least one of the four following Mycoplasma species: M. fermentans, M. hominis, M. pneumoniae or M. penetrans. Consistent with previous results, patients in the current study (n=200) showed a high prevalence (overall 52%) of mycoplasmal infections. Using forensic polymerase chain reaction we also examined whether these same patients showed evidence of infections with Chlamydia pneumoniae (overall 7.5% positive) and/or active human herpes virus‐6 (HHV‐6, overall 30.5% positive). Since the presence of one or more infections may predispose patients to other infections, we examined the prevalence of C. pneumoniae and HHV‐6 active infections in mycoplasma‐positive and ‐negative patients. Unexpectedly, we found that the incidence of C. pneumoniae or HHV‐6 was similar in Mycoplasma‐positive and ‐negative patients, and the converse was also found in active HHV‐6‐positive and ‐negative patients. Control subjects (n=100) had low rates of mycoplasmal (6%), active HHV‐6 (9%) or chlamydial (1%) infections, and there were no co‐infections in control subjects. Differences in bacterial and/or viral infections in CFS patients compared to control subjects were significant. Severity and incidence of patients' signs and symptoms were compared within the above groups. Although there was a tendency for patients with multiple infections to have more severe signs and symptoms (p<0.01), the only significant differences found were in the incidence and severity of certain signs and symptoms in patients with multiple co‐infections of any type compared to the other groups (p<0.01). There was no correlation between the type of co‐infection and severity of signs and symptoms. The results indicate that a large subset of CFS patients show evidence of bacterial and/or viral infection(s), and these infections may contribute to the severity of signs and symptoms found in these patients.
Cultural factors and oral health-related quality of life among dentate adults: Hispanic community health study/study of Latinos

ABSTRACT Objective: Research on the relationships between acculturation, ethnic identity, and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQOL) among the U.S. Hispanic/Latino population is sparse. The aim of this study is to examine the association between acculturation, ethnic identity, and OHRQOL among 13,172 adults in the 2008–2011 Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL). Design: Participants self-reported their acculturation (immigrant generation, birthplace, residence in the U.S., language, and social acculturation), ethnic identity (sense of belonging and pride), and four OHRQOL measures. Key socio-demographic, behavioral, and oral health outcomes were tested as potential confounders. Results: Overall, 57% of individuals experienced poor OHRQOL in at least one of the domains examined. In multivariable analyses, some elements of higher acculturation were associated with greater food restriction and difficulty doing usual jobs/attending school, but not associated with pain or difficulty chewing, tasting, or swallowing. While sense of belonging to one’s ethnic group was not associated with poor OHRQOL, low sense of pride was associated with food restriction. Socio-behavioral characteristics were significant effect modifiers. Conclusion: This study contributes to the understanding of the role of Hispanic/Latino’s cultural factors in OHRQOL perception and can inform targeted strategies to improve OHRQOL in this diverse population.
Pennies from Ebay: The Determinants of Price in Online Auctions

This paper presents an exploratory analysis of the determinants of prices in online auctions for collectible United States one-cent coins at the eBay web site. Starting with an initial data set of 20,000 auctions, we perform regression analysis on a restricted sample of 461 coins for which we obtained estimates of book value. We have three major findings. First, a seller's feedback ratings, reported by other eBay users, have a measurable effect on her auction prices. Negative feedback ratings have a much greater effect than positive feedback ratings do. Second, minimum bids and reserve prices have positive effects on the final auction price. In particular, minimum bids appear only to have a significant effect when they are binding on a single bidder, as predicted by theory. Third, when a seller chooses to have her auction last for a longer period of days, this significantly increases the auction price on average.
The Dilemma of the Unsatisfied Customer in a Market Model of Public Administration

The relationship between administrative service performance and citizen satisfaction has been assumed, but not demonstrated, in the application of market models to public service delivery. Although the citizen satisfaction literature cautions that the link between objective and subjective measures of service quality is tenuous at best, public-sector professional organizations define a managerial focus on objective measures of service performance as accountability to citizens for outcomes. What if we’re wrong?
Developing the Cyber Victimization Experiences and Cyberbullying Behaviors Scales

ABSTRACT The reported prevalence rates of cyber victimization experiences and cyberbullying behaviors vary. Part of this variation is likely due to the diverse definitions and operationalizations of the constructs adopted in previous research and the lack of psychometrically robust measures. Through 2 studies, the authors developed (Study 1) and evaluated (Study 2) the cyber victimization experiences and cyberbullying behaviors scales. Participants in Study 1 were 393 (122 boys, 171 girls) and in Study 2 were 345 (153 boys, 192 girls) 11–15-year-olds who completed measures of cyber victimization experiences, cyberbullying behaviors, face-to-face victimization experiences, face-to-face bullying behaviors, and social desirability. The 3-factor cyber victimization experiences scale comprised threat, shared images, and personal attack. The 3-factor cyberbullying behaviors scale comprised sharing images, gossip, and personal attack. Both scales demonstrated acceptable internal consistency and convergent validity.
First-year Students’ Perceptions of Extended National Diploma Programmes: the Case of a Comprehensive South African University (2012)

This study compared how the cohort of extended diploma students enrolled at a comprehensive South African university in 2012 perceived the programmes for which they were enrolled at the beginning of their first year and towards the end of the year. Data were gathered using questionnaires and semi-structured interviews involving students enrolled for extended national diplomas in Human Resource Management, Management, Entrepreneurship, Logistics, Management Services, Transportation Management and Public Relations. The study established that while the students had negative perceptions of several aspects of the extended national diploma programmes, they had become positive about most of these towards the end of the year. The paper recommends strengthening of teaching and learning support to the extended programmes at the comprehensive university in order to positively influence students’ perceptions of the programmes for achievement of the ultimate goal of improving students’ retention and success rates.
Olfactory identification dysfunction, aggression and impulsivity in war veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder

Background Due to neuropsychological conceptualizations of orbitoprefrontal cortex (OFC) dysfunction underpinning impulsive aggression and the incidence of such behaviour in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), this study aimed to explore olfactory identification (OI) ability in war veterans with PTSD as a probe of putative OFC dysfunction; and to explore the utility of OI ability in predicting aggressive and impulsive behavior in this clinical population. Method Participants comprised 31 out-patient male war veterans with PTSD (mean=58.23 years, s.d.=2.56) recruited from a Melbourne Veterans Psychiatry Unit, and 31 healthy age- and gender-matched controls (mean=56.84 years, s.d.=7.24). All participants were assessed on clinical measures of PTSD, depression, anxiety, and alcohol misuse; olfactory identification; neurocognitive measures of dorsolateral prefrontal, lateral prefrontal and mesial temporal functioning; and self-report measures of aggression and impulsivity. Results War veterans with PTSD exhibited significant OI deficits (OIDs) compared to controls, despite uncompromised performance on cognitive measures. OIDs remained after covaring for IQ, anxiety, depression and alcohol misuse, and were significant predictors of aggression and impulsivity. Conclusions This research contributes to emerging evidence of orbitoprefrontal dysfunction in the pathophysiology underlying PTSD. This is the first study to report OIDs as a predictor of aggression and impulsivity in this clinical population. It prompts further exploration of the potential diagnostic utility of OIDs in the assessment of PTSD. Such measures may help delineate the clinical complexity of PTSD, and support more targeted interventions for individuals with a greater susceptibility to aggressive and impulsive behaviors.
Employee Responses to High Performance Work System Practices: An Analysis of the Awirs95 Data

Since the early 1990s, there has been increasing academic interest in a range of labour management practices labelled variously as ‘high commitment management’, ‘high involvement management’ and ‘High Performance Work Systems’ (HPWS). Such sets of practices - which include performance-related pay, various employee communication mechanisms, training and team-based work- when used in combination, are said to be mutually reinforcing and to generate superior organisational performance. Advocates of HPWS argue that improvements in organisational performance are generated because these practices enhance employee discretion which, in turn, flows into improved attitudes to work. Conversely, critics suggest that HPWS practices lead to work intensification, with any gains in discretion being marginal. In spite of the volume of literature in this area, there are few studies that have examined the impact of HPWS on employees. This article seeks to remedy this gap by reporting results of analysis of the Australian Workplace Industrial Relations Survey 1995 (AWIRS95) data aimed at assessing the associations between HPWS practices and employee outcomes. The analysis suggests that there are few such associations, and those that exist are weak, which calls into question the claims of both advocates and critics of HPWS.
Sustained phosphorylation of tyrosine hydroxylase at serine 40: a novel mechanism for maintenance of catecholamine synthesis

Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) is the rate‐limiting enzyme in catecholamine synthesis. Its activity is known to be controlled acutely (minutes) by phosphorylation and chronically (days) by protein synthesis. Using bovine adrenal chromaffin cells we found that nicotine, acting via nicotinic receptors, sustained the phosphorylation of TH at Ser40 for up to 48 h. Nicotine also induced sustained activation of TH, which for the first 24 h was completely independent of TH protein synthesis, and the phosphorylation of TH at Ser31. Imipramine did not inhibit the acute phosphorylation of TH at Ser40 or TH activation induced by nicotine, but did inhibit the sustained responses to nicotine seen at 24 h. The protein kinase(s) responsible for TH phosphorylation at Ser40 switched from being protein kinase C (PKC) independent in the acute phase to PKC dependent in the sustained phase. Sustained phosphorylation and activation of TH were also observed with histamine and angiotensin II. Sustained phosphorylation of TH at Ser40 provides a novel mechanism for increasing TH activity and this leads to increased catecholamine synthesis. Sustained phosphorylation of TH may be a selective target for drugs or pathology in neurons that contain TH and synthesize dopamine, noradrenaline or adrenaline.
Do on/off time series models reproduce emerging stock market comovements?

Using nonlinear modeling tools, this study investigates the comovements between the Mexican and the world stock markets over the last three decades. While the previous works only highlight some evidence of comovements, our paper aims to specify the different time-varying links and mechanisms characterizing the Mexican stock market through the comparison of two nonlinear error correction models (NECMs). Our findings point out strong evidence of time-varying and nonlinear mean-reversion and links between Mexico and the world stock market, which reflects the significant development of Mexican stock market during the last decades. The specification of the nature of these links is interesting for investment decisions in emerging markets.