Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Corporate Governance and Covenant Restrictiveness in Private Debt Contracts

Both corporate governance and covenants separately have been shown to play a role in mitigating agency problems associated with debt. Accordingly, we examine the association between corporate governance and the restrictiveness of covenants on a sample of newly syndicated loans in the U.S. private debt market. Cross-sectional results support the argument that, ceteris paribus, firms with stronger corporate governance are perceived by debtholders as less likely to engage in ex post opportunism, thereby reducing the need for particularly restrictive covenants. More specifically, the results indicate that both a corporate governance score and board independence are positively and significantly associated with covenant slack. While the results also show that independent directors’ financial expertise and covenant slack are positively related, there is no evidence to suggest that slack is associated with “busy” directors or CEO duality. Overall, the empirical evidence supports the hypothesis that debtholders perceive aspects of corporate governance to be beneficial and factor them into their contracting decisions.
THE INFLUENCE OF OWNERSHIP, CONTROL, GOVERNANCE AND DIVERSIFICATION ON THE PERFORMANCE OF FAMILY- CONTROLLED FIRMS IN MALAYSIA

This study explores how a concentrated ownership structure and the underlying firm strategies/activities or practices influence the performance of family-controlled publicly-listed firms in Malaysia. Specifically, it aims to enhance our understanding of how differing types of significant owners, control-enhancing means, business groups and firm diversification affect firm performance within a national corporate governance system characterized by pervasive political involvement in business. It also aims to enhance out understanding of the role of board independence in moderating the above effects. the distinctiveness of this study arises from its approach of considering ownership structure and the underlying firm strategies/activities or practices in an integrated manner with particular emphasis on their inter-relationships. Multivariate with moderate regression analysis were utilized as primary tools of analysis. Based on a sample of 314 firms, major findings include (i) the proportion of family equity ownership positively influences corporate performance, (ii) group-affiliated firms generally under-perform non-group affiliated firms, (iii) the heterogeneity of business groups results in considerable differences in performance. Specifically, size of business group has a negative moderating effect on the firm diversification-performance relationship, (iv) profit redistribution occurs in firms that have a high level of family ownership and that are affiliated to large business groups, (v) board independence in general lacks effectiveness in moderating the influence of firm strategies or activities on firm performance. In terms of practical/managerial implications, the study demonstrates (i) the importance of conceptualising corporate governance in a broader sense, particularly in emerging economies such as Malaysia, (ii) how policymakers and regulators may identify and better monitor firms that are more likely to expropriate investors and/or exhibit governance problems, and (iii) a potentially fruitful approach to be adopted by investment professionals in selecting firms with better overall governance structures and performance that enhance their investment returns, particularly in the long term.
Corporate Governance and Ownership: Evidence from a Non-Mandatory Regulation

We study the governance choices of firms in a voluntary regulatory regime where we can directly observe the impact of ownership on corporate governance practices pertaining to the composition of the board of directors. We find that firms with a dominant shareholder are more likely to deviate from standards of best practice in corporate governance. However, lesser governance standards in firms where a dominant shareholder is present are not associated with lower performance. In contrast, governance practices and disclosures matter for performance in widely-held firms because they alleviate monitoring and free-rider problems. Our results suggest that the impact of corporate governance practices is the result of complex governance interdependences.
Studies on cross reactive HL-A antibodies by elution with platelets.

To evaluate the actual frequency and complexity of cross reactive HL-A antibodies, 268 eluates produced with platelets from 43 unselected sera of parous women containing cytotoxic, HL-A specific antibodies were studied. With sera or eluates or both, 41 different cross reactions against antigens of the second and 6 against antigens of the first locus were demonstrated. Although the antigens most frequently involved were HL-A 2, 5 and 7, it was difficult to delineate “cross reacting groups”. There was an obvious interdependence between the specificities of cross reactive antibodies and the antigens of the serum producer. With respect to the fathers' antigens, the occurring antibodies were usually broader than expected. RNEP (Reaction Negative-Elution Positive)-phenomena were found with 30 eluates derived from 21 sera.
The Effects of Contract Design and Implementation Practices on Worker Incentive Plan Outcomes

Key issues in the design of incentive plans include the choice of performance measures, the level of pay-performance sensitivity, and the use of individual versus group payouts. In addition, research suggests that implementation issues can also have significant effects on incentive plan outcomes. Using a sample of 462 worker (non-management) incentive plans, we examine a wide variety of measurement, contractual and implementation practices, and investigate their individual and joint effects on incentive plan outcomes. Despite the emphasis on performance measurement choices in past compensation studies, we find evidence that other contractual and implementation characteristics have equal or greater influence on plan outcomes, and that many of these features interact to impact performance in a non-linear fashion.
Cocirculation and Evolution of Two Lineages of Influenza B Viruses in Europe and Israel in the 2001-2002 Season

ABSTRACT Forty-nine influenza B virus isolates collected in Belgium, Finland, Spain, and Israel during the 2001-2002 winter season were categorized into either of two lineages, B/Yamagata/16/88 or B/Victoria/2/87, based on the phylogenetic studies of HA1 sequences. The data trace the geographic spread of B/Victoria/2/87-like viruses and support the emergence of B/Hong Kong/1351/02-like viruses, possibly due to selective advantages of reassortment.
Does International Outsourcing Depress Union Wages

In this paper, we provide first empirical evidence on the effect of outsourcing on union wages using linked employer-employee data for Germany. We find that low skilled workers experience a decline in the union wage premium when working in industries with high outsourcing intensities. The finding applies to both firm- and sector-level agreements. Hence, outsourcing appears to deteriorate the bargaining position of unions. Outsourcing is not found to have a negative effect on the wages of low skilled employees not covered by collective bargaining agreements. While wages of medium skilled workers are largely unaffected by outsourcing, high skilled workers see their wages rise in industries with a high level of outsourcing. There is no interaction between coverage and outsourcing for these skill groups.
Are Chinese Listed Firms Over-Investing‘

We investigate how financial constraints and agency costs impact firms' investment in China. A generalized Q investment model is constructed. It implies that firms' investment depends mainly on three factors: investment opportunity which determines the optimal investment stochastic frontier, financial constraints and agency costs, both of which are one-sided distributed and tend to deflect the firm's investment from its optimal level. Our theory can be tested using the newly developed two-tier stochastic frontier analysis. The empirical results show that both financial constraints and agency costs have significant effects on Chinese listed firms' investment, while that of the former is dominant. The net effect of these two factors leads to a nearly 34% underinvestment. Thus, we severely cast doubt on a large body of previous studies which claim that Chinese listed firms are over-investing.
Manufacturers' Competition and Subsidies to Suppliers

Dealing with risky suppliers is a part of everyday business for manufacturers. For example, the domestic automotive supply industry has faced numerous hardships as some of its largest firms have flirted with bankruptcy, or have been subsumed by Chap 11 over the past few years. Nearly 30% of the pre-existing North American automotive supply base had filed for bankruptcy by the end of 2008. Half are predicted to file for bankruptcy before the end of 2010.
Transiting planet search in the Kepler pipeline

The Kepler Mission simultaneously measures the brightness of more than 160,000 stars every 29.4 minutes over a 3.5-year mission to search for transiting planets. Detecting transits is a signal-detection problem where the signal of interest is a periodic pulse train and the predominant noise source is non-white, non-stationary (1/f) type process of stellar variability. Many stars also exhibit coherent or quasi-coherent oscillations. The detection algorithm first identifies and removes strong oscillations followed by an adaptive, wavelet-based matched filter. We discuss how we obtain super-resolution detection statistics and the effectiveness of the algorithm for Kepler flight data.
New model for colour kinetics of plum under infrared vacuum condition and microwave drying.

BACKGROUND Quality of dried foods is affected by the drying method and physiochemical changes in tissue. The drying method affects properties such as colour. The colour of processed food is one of the most important quality indices and plays a determinant role in consumer acceptability of food materials and the processing method. The colour of food materials can be used as an indirect factor to determine changes in quality, since it is simpler and faster than chemical methods. METHODS The study focused on the kinetics of colour changes of plum slices, under infrared vacuum and microwave conditions. Drying the samples was implemented at the absolute pressures of 20 and 60 kPa, drying temperatures of 50 and 60°C and microwave power of 90, 270, 450 and 630 W. Colour changes were quantified by the tri-stimulus L* (whiteness/darkness), a* (redness/greenness) and b* (yellowness/blueness) model, which is an international standard for color measurement developed by the Commission Internationale d'Eclairage (CIE). These values were also used to calculate total colour change (∆E), chroma, hue angle, and browning index (BI). A new model was used for mathematical modelling of colour change kinetics. RESULTS The drying process changed the colour parameters of L*, a*, and b*, causing a colour shift toward the darker region. The values of L* and hue angle decreased, whereas the values of a*, b*, ∆E, chroma and browning index increased during exposure to infrared vacuum conditions and microwave drying. Comparing the results obtained using the new model with two conventional models of zero-order and first-order kinetics indicated that the new model presented more compatibility with the data of colour kinetics for all colour parameters and drying conditions. CONCLUSIONS All kinetic changes in colour parameters can be explained by the new model presented in this study. The hybrid drying system included infrared vacuum conditions and microwave power for initial slow drying of plum slices and provided the desired results for colour change.
Evaluation of routine anti‐HBc screening of volunteer blood donors: a questionable surrogate test for non‐A, non‐B hepatitis

ABSTRACT: Routine antibody to hepatitis B core antigen (anti‐HBc) screening, recommended as a surrogate test to identify potential carriers of non‐ A, non‐B hepatitis, was evaluated on 22,346 blood donors using currently available enzyme immunoassay (EIA) reagents. Of the 2 percent found reactive, the majority had cutoff‐to‐sample absorbance ratios < 2.0 and < one‐half had anti‐HBc when tested by a radioimmunoassay (RIA) method. Only one of 2877 units donated previously by the reactive donors was implicated in a transfusion associated hepatitis case. These results raise questions about the use of currently available anti‐HBc reagents as a surrogate test for non‐A, non‐B hepatitis.
S-Equol Activates cAMP Signaling at the Plasma Membrane of INS-1 Pancreatic β-Cells and Protects against Streptozotocin-Induced Hyperglycemia by Increasing β-Cell Function in Male Mice.

Background:S-equol, which is enantioselectively produced from daidzein by gut microbiota, has been suggested as a chemopreventive agent against type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear.Objective: We investigated the effects of S-equol on pancreatic β-cell function.Methods: β-Cell growth and insulin secretion were evaluated with male Institute of Cancer Research mice and isolated pancreatic islets from the mice, respectively. The mechanisms by which S-equol stimulated β-cell response were examined in INS-1 β-cells. The effect of S-equol treatment on β-cell function was assessed in low-dose streptozotocin-treated mice. S-equol was used at 10 μmol/L for in vitro and ex vivo studies and was administered by oral gavage (20 mg/kg, 2 times/d throughout the experimental period) for in vivo studies.Results:S-equol administration for 7 d increased Ki67-positive β-cells by 27% (P < 0.01) in mice. S-equol enantioselectively enhanced glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in mouse pancreatic islets by 41% (P < 0.001). In INS-1 cells, S-equol exerted stronger effects than daidzein on cell growth, insulin secretion, and cAMP-response element (CRE)-mediated transcription. These S-equol effects were diminished by inhibiting protein kinase A. The effective concentration of S-equol for stimulating cAMP production at the plasma membrane was lower than that for phosphodiesterase inhibition. S-equol-stimulated CRE activation was negatively controlled by the knockdown of G-protein α subunit group S (stimulatory) and positively controlled by that of G-protein-coupled receptor kinase-3 and -6. Compared with vehicle-treated controls, S-equol gavage treatment resulted in an increase in β-cell mass of 104% (P < 0.05), a trend toward high plasma insulin concentrations (by 118%; P = 0.06), and resistance to hyperglycemia after streptozotocin treatment (78% of AUC after glucose challenge; P < 0.01). S-equol administration significantly increased the number of Ki67-positive proliferating β-cells by 62% (P < 0.01) and decreased that of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling-positive apoptotic β-cells by 75% (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Our results show that S-equol boosts β-cell function and prevents hypoglycemia in mice, suggesting its potential for T2DM prevention.
Risk factors for urological symptoms in a cohort of users of the HIV protease inhibitor indinavir sulfate: the ATHENA cohort.

BACKGROUND Nephrolithiasis is a well-known complication of indinavir treatment and may result in urological symptoms ranging from renal colic to renal insufficiency. OBJECTIVE To obtain further knowledge regarding the incidence and risk factors of urological symptoms associated with indinavir sulfate use. METHODS This study was performed in the ATHENA (AIDS Therapy Evaluation National AIDS Therapy Evaluation Centre) cohort of patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) receiving antiretroviral therapy in the Netherlands. The incidence rate of urological symptoms was assessed in a subcohort of 1219 patients starting HIV protease inhibitor treatment after 1996. Urological symptoms were defined as an initial report of nephrolithiasis, renal colic, flank pain, hematuria, renal insufficiency, or nephropathy. Using multivariate Cox regression analysis, risk factors for urological symptoms during indinavir treatment were subsequently studied among the subset of 644 patients who started indinavir treatment after 1996. RESULTS The incidence of urological symptoms was 8.3 per 100 treatment-years for indinavir vs 0.8 per 100 treatment-years for other HIV protease inhibitors. Risk factors for urological symptoms during indinavir treatment were low weight (relative risk [RR], 2.1; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.1-3.9), low lean body mass (RR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.0-2.9), undetectable HIV-1 RNA when starting indinavir treatment (RR, 3.2; 95% CI, 1.5-6.0), prior treatment change because of intolerance (RR, 2.4; 95% CI, 1.2-5.1), indinavir regimens of 1000 mg or more twice daily (RR, 3.1; 95% CI, 1.3-8.2), and warm environmental temperatures (RR, 3.9; 95% CI, 1.7-8.8). Risk estimates were highest among patients with a low lean body mass. CONCLUSION Increased alertness for urological symptoms is warranted for patients starting indinavir treatment, particularly among those with a low lean body mass, during indinavir regimens of 1000 mg or more twice daily, and in warm weather environments.
Mutations in Four Regulatory Genes Have Interrelated Effects on Heterocyst Maturation in Anabaena sp. Strain PCC 7120

ABSTRACT Regulatory genes hepK, hepN, henR, and hepS are required for heterocyst maturation in Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120. They presumptively encode two histidine kinases, a response regulator, and a serine/threonine kinase, respectively. To identify relationships between those genes, we compared global patterns of gene expression, at 14 h after nitrogen step-down, in corresponding mutants and in the wild-type strain. Heterocyst envelopes of mutants affected in any of those genes lack a homogeneous, polysaccharide layer. Those of a henR mutant also lack a glycolipid layer. patA, which encodes a positive effector of heterocyst differentiation, was up-regulated in all mutants except the hepK mutant, suggesting that patA expression may be inhibited by products related to heterocyst development. hepS and hepK were up-regulated if mutated and so appear to be negatively autoregulated. HepS and HenR regulated a common set of genes and so appear to belong to one regulatory system. Some nontranscriptional mechanism may account for the observation that henR mutants lack, and hepS mutants possess, a glycolipid layer, even though both mutations down-regulated genes involved in formation of the glycolipid layer. HepK and HepN also affected transcription of a common set of genes and therefore appear to share a regulatory pathway. However, the transcript abundance of other genes differed very significantly from expression in the wild-type strain in either the hepK or hepN mutant while differing very little from wild-type expression in the other of those two mutants. Therefore, hepK and hepN appear to participate also in separate pathways.
Low-power high-performance SAR ADC with redundancy and digital background calibration

As technology scales, the improved speed and energy eciency make the successive- approximation-register (SAR) architecture an attractive alternative for applications that require high-speed and high-accuracy analog-to-digital converters (ADCs). In SAR ADCs, the key linearity and speed limiting factors are capacitor mismatch and incomplete digital-to-analog converter (DAC)/reference voltage settling. In this the- sis, a sub-radix-2 SAR ADC is presented with several new contributions. The main contributions include investigation of using digital error correction (redundancy) in SAR ADCs for dynamic error correction and speed improvement, development of two new calibration algorithms to digitally correct for manufacturing mismatches, design of new architecture to incorporate redundancy within the architecture itself while achieving 94% better energy eciency compared to conventional switching algorithm, development of a new capacitor DAC structure to improve the SNR by four times with improved matching, joint design of the analog and digital circuits to create an asynchronous platform in order to reach the targeted performance, and analysis of key circuit blocks to enable the design to meet noise, power and timing requirements. The design is fabricated in standard 1P9M 65nm CMOS technology with 1.2V supply. The active die area is 0. 083mm² with full rail-to-rail input swing of 2.4V p-p . A 67.4dB SNDR, 78.1dB SFDR, +1.0/-0.9 LSB₁₂ INL and +0.5/-0.7 LSB₁₂ DNL are achieved at 50MS/s at Nyquist rate. The total power consumption, including the estimated calibration and reference power, is 2.1mW, corresponding to 21.9fJ/conv. - step FoM. This ADC achieves the best FoM of any ADCs with greater than 10b ENOB and 10MS/s sampling rate.
What Do Mutual Funds Do? Mutual Funds and Financial Intermediation

Mutual funds are analyzed from a risk management perspective to explain their existence as financial intermediaries. Due to their organizational features, in particular the open-end capitalization and the marked-to-market valuation, mutual funds simultaneously allow for diversi cation, asset accumulation and insurance against liquidity risk. The costs of the liquidity provision in form of negative externalities can be reduced by an adequate fee structure. Although the confl icts of interest between mutual funds and their shareholders cannot be eliminated completely, they can be minimized by the market power of the shareholders.
Faktor-Faktor yang Mempengaruhi Earnings Response Coeficient pada Perusahaan yang Terdaftar di Bursa Efek Jakarta

The objective of this study is to examine factors affect earnings response coefficient consist of earnings persistence, capital structure, systematic risk (beta), earnings growth, and firm size (Scott, 2000). The study added one variable, that is audit quality. Teoh and Wong (1993) argue that audit quality is positively associated with clientâ€™s quality of earnings and the earnings response coefficient. Samples used in this study are 255 firms listed in the Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSE) from 2001-2005. The study tested hypothesis by using multiple regression analysis models. The results of study show that all of the factors (earnings persistence, capital structure, systematic risk (beta), earnings growth, and firm size) influence earnings response coefficients, exception audit quality is not statistically significant influence earnings response coefficients. Keywords: earnings response coefficient, audit quality, earnings quality