Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Targeted SME financing and employment effects : what do we know and what can we do differently?

SME’s form a dominant share of the private sector in developing countries, and account for more than 50 percent of jobs in their respective economies. Besides their positive employment effects, the growth and vibrancy of these firms is also important for broader economic growth, diversification of economic base and as a source of innovation that is exhibited by some of the start-ups. Women-owned SMEs are emerging as one of the fast growing segments within the SME sector. Youth play an important role in the creation of new firms and start up activities. Given this importance of SMEs for creation of more, better and inclusive jobs, there is significant focus on understanding the constraints to growth of this sector and implementing programs to address them in the World Bank Group and the other development institutions. Among the several constraints that they face, access to finance is usually cited as the most important and there are several instruments that can be applied to address this constraint. However, what is the evidence of impact of these programs on the employment effects? This note brings together the learnings and evidence from access to finance interventions on employment and provides some recommendations for development practitioners who seek to maximize this objective from their access to finance interventions.
Visual rating and volumetry of the medial temporal lobe on magnetic resonance imaging in dementia

The paper by Wahlund et al in this issue (pp630–635)1 tries to shed light on the usefulness of biological markers in the routine diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. Tissue loss in the medial temporal lobe regions as detected by MRI is one of the most feasible and accurate markers developed to date and investigating its usefulness in a clinical setting is potentially relevant. The paper has two main merits. Firstly, it highlights that the usefulness of diagnostic examinations needs to be judged within the specific diagnostic pathway.2 For any given patient coming to medical …
Facilitating Radical Front‐End Innovation Through Targeted HRM Practices: A Case Study of Pharmaceutical and Biotech Companies

This study extends the knowledge of the human resource management (HRM)–innovation relationship and examines how innovation-facilitating bundles of HRM practices are applied to facilitate radical pharmaceutical front-end innovation (FEI). The empirical investigation is an explorative case study of science-driven FEI and HRM practices across one in-depth case study and seven validation studies among international pharmaceutical and biotech companies. The findings provide a theoretical overview of key HRM practices in support of radical pharmaceutical FEI as well as an empirical mapping of how innovation-facilitating bundles of HRM practices are applied to actively develop radical, science-driven pharmaceutical FEI, including the identification of the key innovation challenges and opportunities involving innovation-facilitating HRM practices in pharmaceutical FEI. The article contributes to the existing innovation literature in terms of identifying how radical FEI may be facilitated through the application of innovation-facilitating bundles of HRM practices. The empirical contribution and managerial implications provide nine specific suggestions for how pharmaceutical management groups can better support radical pharmaceutical FEI through targeted HRM practices. The derived results of the study also underline inherent challenges of the pharmaceutical industry and regulations (FDA) that may not stimulate radical innovation, which cannot be resolved by HRM, but require the attention of policy makers. The value added lies in the specificity of the empirical, pharmaceutical context in which the issue of supporting radical, science-driven FEI is investigated.
Effect of Environmental Decentralization on Polluting Firms in India

This paper examines the impact of environmental decentralization on the birth of polluting firms in India. It focuses on a 2006 reform of the environmental impact assessment process and adopts a triple-differences approach that compares treated and untreated sectors across states with different levels of environmental stringency. Results based on firm-level data for the period 1998–2012 show that the decentralization induced a decrease in firm births in states with stricter enforcement. The findings draw attention to the consequences of large disparities in enforcement capacity when fostering decentralization.
Effect Farm Management Practices on Performance of Smallholder Rice Farmers in Cameroon: A Case of the West Region of Cameroon

This study was carried out to analyse effect of farm management practices on performance of smallholder rice farmers in Cameroon: A Case of the West Region of Cameroon. A purposive, multistage and stratified random sampling technique was used in selecting the respondents. A total of 192 small scale rice producers were purposively selected from four (4) out of eight divisions. Data were collected using structured questionnaires and interview schedule, administered on the respondents were analyzed using multiple linear regressions. The result indicated that the linear functional form has the highest coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.978 implying that farming experience; farm size; rice variety; extension visit; credit received and rice output contributes to 97.8 percent of the variation of the performance of smallholder rice farmers. The result further revealed that coefficients for rice variety; extension visit; rice output; farming experience; farm size and credit received were found positive and significantly influenced the performance of smallholder rice farmers at 1 percent level of probability. This implies that increases in rice variety; extension visit; rice output; farming experience; farm size and credit received by unity will increase their performance by the value of their coefficients. It is therefore recommended that: experience farmers should be encouraged to remains in rice production as well as agricultural credit should also be made available at low interest rate in order to enhance smallholder rice farmers’ performance.
The reputation of Underwriters, the bonding hypothesis, and the impact on the information environment of U.S cross-listed firms

The first essay of this dissertation tests whether hiring a reputable underwriter to sponsor equity offerings of foreign firms, that occur when they cross-list on a U.S. stock exchange, is a “reputational bonding” mechanism. In line with the Bonding Hypothesis of Stulz (1999) and Coffee (1999, 2002), I find that foreign firms that cross-list in the U.S. and undertake IPOs are more likely to employ reputable underwriters if the firms come from countries with poor shareholder protection. The additional monitoring provided by reputable underwriters may help overcome the skepticism of U.S. investors, and explains the higher valuation these firms obtain after the offering. There is, however, a price to be paid for this bonding benefit. I find that issuers from countries with low shareholder protection tend to be more underpriced if they are sponsored by prestigious underwriters. In the second dissertation essay, I examine whether the decisions to raise equity and hire a reputable underwriter to conduct the offering impacts the information environment of foreign firms cross-listed on a U.S stock exchange. Using a sample of cross-listed firms from 1980 to 2004, I find that those that raise equity and hire a reputable underwriter, within three years after cross-listing, observe higher analyst coverage and more accurate earnings forecasts.
Effects Induced by Two Different Estrogens on Serum Individual Phospholipids and Serum Lecithin Fatty Acid Composition

Eleven oophorectomized women (mean age 34.5 +/- 5.9) received two treatment cycles, one of the 17-C-alkylated ethinyl estradiol 20 microgram per day, and the second of the non-alkylated estrogen, estradiol valerate 2 mg per day for six weeks in separate periods preceded by six weeks without hormonal replacement therapy. Blood samples were drawn before and after six weeks on each estrogen. The samples were assayed for individual phospholipids i.e. cephalin, lecithin, lysolecithin and sphingomyelin after separation of these lipids by thin layer chromatography. The relative fatty acid composition of serum and high density lipoprotein lecithin and serum cholesterol ester was determined by gas liquid chromatography. Both estrogens reversed the symptoms of estrogen deficiency and had similar effects on serum individual phospholipids i.e. causing an increase in lecithin concomitant with a decrease in lysolecithin. It is suggested that this lecithin-lysolecithin shift could depend on an inhibition of the hepatic lipase and its phospholipase A1-activity. Both estrogens increased serum lecithin arachidonic acid without causing any change in linoleic acid (the major essential fatty acid), which indicates that this increase in arachidonic acid could be an estrogenic effect independent of dietary factors. Ethinyl estradiol caused an increase in palmitic and a decrease in stearic acid in the 1-position of serum lecithin while estradiol valerate did not influence these fatty acids at all. This palmitic-stearic acid shift induced by ethinyl estradiol is interpreted as a non-hormonal "drug-effect" linked to the liver toxicity of 17-C-alkylated steroids in spite of the lack of influence on routine liver function tests.
Corporate governance effect on firms’ performance – evidence from the UAE

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to show the effect of the corporate governance (CG) on firms’ performance in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The governance mechanisms employed in this study are board size, board independence and audit committee’s (AC) characteristics. The examined AC characteristics are: AC member’s independence, number of financial experts in the committee, ratio of meetings held during the year, and the incentives received by the AC members. Design/methodology/approach - This paper uses all the public listed corporations in the UAE financial markets. The secondary data for four years are used starting from 2010 where the mandatory corporate governance code had been mandated. Findings - Board independence has been found to negatively affect firms’ performance. AC meetings and financial experts’ ratio did not affect firm’s performance, while AC incentives and AC independence negatively affected firms’ performance. Originality/value - This study is supposed to fill the gap of the lack in CG studies based on fast growing economy which is UAE. Besides, this research investigates the AC’s characters’ effect on firms’ performance which was rarely covered in literature.
Analysis of the Information Disclosure of Commercial Banks¡¯ Internal Control

By adopting the content analysis approach, this paper selects the annual reports of 45 China’s commercial banks to analyze the influencing factors of internal control information disclosure. The quality of internal control information disclosure of listed banks tends to be better than non-listed banks. Our empirical study shows that the factors of the exchanges of the banks’ listing, the proportion of the number of independent directors in the board of directors, and the times of the audit committee meetings have a significant positive impact on the quality of internal control information disclosure of commercial banks. To improve the quality of the internal control information disclosure of commercial banks, we put forward such suggestions as amending the supervision system, reducing the listing threshold and creating opportunities for listing for small and medium sized commercial banks, developing voluntary disclosure incentive policies, and intensifying effective punishment measures against and misbehavior in the information disclosure.
Relations between Parenting and Adolescents’ Academic Functioning: The Mediating Role of Achievement Goal Orientations

We investigated whether and how adolescents’ perceived parental psychological control and autonomy support influence their maladaptive academic functioning through their achievement goal orientations. Participants were 845 tenth-grade students (447 boys, Mage = 15.20 ± .54 years; 398 girls, Mage = 15.13 ± .47 years) in China. Data were collected on their reported achievement goal orientations, perceived parental psychological control and autonomy support, and academic-related beliefs, strategies, and behaviors. Bootstrapping with resampling strategies was used for testing multiple mediators’ model and examining mediation effect. Results indicated that, compared with girls, adolescent boys perceived higher parental psychological control. Moreover, we found distinct effects of parental psychological control and autonomy support on adolescents’ maladaptive academic functioning through achievement goal orientations. Specifically, parental psychological control led to adolescents’ maladaptive academic functioning, mainly through adolescents’ performance-approach goal orientation (.06, BC 95% CI [.03, .09]) and performance-avoidance goal orientation (.02, BC 95% CI [.01, .03]) rather than mastery goal orientation (-.00, BC 95% CI [-.01, .01]); while parental autonomy support reduced adolescents’ maladaptive academic functioning, mainly through their mastery goal orientation (-.02, BC 95% CI [.11, .19]) rather than performance-approach goal orientation (.01, BC 95% CI [-.01, .03]) and performance-avoidance goal orientation (.01, BC 95% CI [-.01, .02]). The results suggest that adolescents will benefit from parents ameliorating maladaptive academic functioning through fostering mastery goal orientations, and be harmed from parents facilitating maladaptive academic functioning through enhancing performance-approach and performance-avoidance goal orientations.
[Effect of phosgene on apoptosis of alveolar type II cells and vascular endothelial growth factor in exposed mice].

OBJECTIVE To study the apoptosis of alveolar type II cells, alterations of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), VEGF receptor (Flt1) in serum and lung and expression of VEGF mRNA in lung in pulmonary edema mice induced by phosgene. METHODS Twenty-six BALB/C mice were randomly divided into 2 groups: control group, exposed group (13 mice in each group). Mice of exposed group were intoxicated by inhalation of phosgene 11.9 mg/L for 5 minutes. Mice of control group were treated as the same way by inhalation of air. Isolation of mice alveolus type II cells 4 h after intoxication was carried out to observe their apoptosis under electron microscope. Contents of VEGF and Flt1 in lung and serum by ELISA, and expression of VEGF mRNA were determined. RESULTS Alveolar type II cells were identified by tannic acid staining and electron microscopy. After exposed to 11.9 mg/L of phosgene for 5 minutes, the apoptotic body in alveolus type II cells was found in exposed group. The contents of VEGF in serum and lung and Flt1 in lung of exposed mice [(134.07 +/- 120.26), (477.76 +/- 98.06), (1,2818.48 +/- 2,304.15) pg/ml] were significantly lower than those of control group [(445.57 +/- 173.30), (1,026.87 +/- 474.56), (21,976.51 +/- 7,421.01) pg/ml, P < 0.05] but the content of Flt1 in serum [(2,369.56 +/- 381.70) pg/ml] was higher than that in control group [(1,898.00 +/- 453.69) pg/ml, P < 0.05]. The expression of VEGF mRNA in pulmonary edema mice was decreased. CONCLUSION Phosgene can induce apoptosis of alveolar type II cells, and decrease in the content of VEGF and Flt1, and expression of VEGF mRNA in lung.
Low cost ultrasonic sensors for tele‐operated vehicles

Describes a new reliable low‐cost ultrasonic ranging system to assist in steering a powered wheelchair. Detection algorithms have been created and implemented on a micro controller based stand‐alone system suitable for a tele‐operated vehicle. The detection uses the gradient of the echo envelope and is resistant to noise and inconsistencies in the detection circuitry. The sensor array was considered as separate sensors, working independently so the system could quickly gather separate sets of range information. These sets were overlaid on to a 2D grid array. The new system is cheaper and simpler than available systems for powered wheelchairs.
Appropriate implantable cardioverter defibrillator therapy in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: what happens on Sunday afternoons in May?

This editorial refers to ‘The relation of ventricular arrhythmia electrophysiological characteristics to cardiac phenotype and circadian patterns in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy’ by C. O'Mahony et al . , on page 724 Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous disease. Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is the most devastating complication of HCM. The substrate for potentially life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias (VA) in HCM is complex. The hypertrophy causes dispersion of repolarization and refractoriness, which increases the vulnerability to triggered arrhythmia. Myocardial disarray, the histological hallmark of the disease leads to a disruption of cell-to-cell alignment and together with the expansion of the interstitial compartment and replacement fibrosis creates unidirectional conduction block that predispose to re-entry arrhythmia. Sarcomeric protein gene mutations influence calcium homeostasis, and abnormalities in ion fluxes during repolarization can cause after-depolarization and triggered activity. This unpredictable, complex arrhythmogenic substrate is further influenced by maladaptive autonomic responses, myocardial ischaemia, left ventricular outflow tract obstruction, and currently unknown factors.1 Although these characteristics are to some extent present in most HCM patients, risk of SCD in the general HCM population is low.2 The risk of sudden death increases in the presence of the following clinical risk factors: positive family history of SCD, unexplained syncope, abnormal blood pressure response to exercise, left ventricular wall thickness ≥30 mm, …
Clustering statistics in cosmology

The main tools in cosmology for comparing theoretical models with the observations of the galaxy distribution are statistical. We will review the applications of spatial statistics to the description of the large-scale structure of the universe. Special topics discussed in this talk will be: description of the galaxy samples, selection effects and biases, correlation functions, Fourier analysis, nearest neighbor statistics, Minkowski functionals and structure statistics. Special attention will be devoted to scaling laws and the use of the lacunarity measures in the description of the cosmic texture.
Factors Related to False-Versus True-Positive Neuromonitoring Changes in Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis Surgery

Study Design. A retrospective study of 134 adolescent patients who underwent surgical correction of idiopathic scoliosis between June 1992 and August 1998 was conducted. Objective. To examine factors related to changes in somatosensory-evoked potentials with or without neurogenic motor-evoked potentials. Summary of Background Data. Studies document and demonstrate threshold criteria for changes in neuromonitoring that predict changes in spinal cord function. Rates of false-negative occurrences are low, yet higher rates of false-positive findings may result. Methods. All the patients had somatosensory monitoring, and 71 patients had both somatosensory-evoked potential and neurogenic motor-evoked potential monitoring. Gender, age, curve types, duration of surgery, type and amount of instrumentation, and amount of correction were examined for their effects on monitoring. Estimated blood volume loss as well as high and low mean arterial pressure and its variance were assessed at the start, middle, and conclusion of the procedure. Results. According to the findings, 122 patients (91%) had no monitoring changes and no postoperative neurologic deficit. Six patients (4.5%) had false-positive readings. Six patients had a postoperative motor or sensory deficit, all of which resolved within 18 months. False-positive readings were associated with greater variability in mean arterial pressure. No consistent predictions could be made about the incidence of cord injury if neuromonitoring changes returned to baseline before the end of surgery. Conclusions. Questions remain about the predictive accuracy of somatosensory-evoked and neurogenic motor-evoked potentials. According to the findings in this study, in which there were no false-negative readings and a modest false-positive rate, continued use of these methods is recommended. Higher false-positive rates were seen in patients with greater lability in mean arterial pressure. A wake-up test is recommended for all cases in which threshold monitoring changes occur because cases of spinal cord injury may exist even when monitored variables return to baseline.
Does Practice Make Perfect?: Part I: The Relation Between Hospital Volume and Outcomes for Selected Diagnostic Categories

The effect of a greater volume of patients with similar conditions being treated at a hospital on the outcomes achieved is studied using a variety of categories of patients, 15 surgical and 2 medical, and involving 550,000 patients treated in over 1,200 nonfederal United States acute care hospitals. After demonstrating that there are significant differences in the outcomes of patients, taking into account patient health status, the authors examine the impact of being treated in a hospital with a high or low volume of similar patients. Strong and consistent evidence is found that high volume is associated with better outcomes for surgical patients, which supports regionalizing patient care by procedure. Two additional variables, relative difficulty of the procedure and risk level of the patients, are analyzed to determine whether they change the relationship between volume and outcome. Some evidence is found that low-volume hospitals are associated with the poorest outcome for low-risk surgical patients. The evidence for medical patients is weak and mixed. Possible alternative explanations for the observed findings for surgical and medical patients are discussed.
Gene Therapy a Suspect in Leukemia-like Disease

French gene therapists reported this week that one of 10 children they treated for a lethal immune deficiency has developed a blood disorder resembling leukemia. Concerned that the gene therapy might have caused the problem, researchers have halted the trial and urged others who use similar methods to hold off until the risks are assessed. At press time, French regulatory officials were preparing a public advisory.