Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Demand and Supply of Information on Intangibles: The Case of Knowledge-Intense Companies

This doctoral thesis has its theoretical origin in the notion that the information flow between management teams, financial analysts and investors is especially exposed to information asymmetry when knowledge-intense companies are concerned. Information asymmetry may aggravate agency problems and risk causing an impairment of the efficient allocation of capital on the stock market. Therefore, the thesis examines different aspects related to the presence of intangibles in the information flow surrounding the valuation of knowledge-intense companies. The thesis includes four independent, but related essays. The first essay starts with reviewing classifications developed for internal strategic decision-making and external reporting, respectively, in order to make a synthesis as to which categories of intangibles they chiefly centre on. Empirical studies are also reviewed to examine if the identified categories of intangibles are found to enhance the corporate value-creation process. Considering the importance of annual reports and analyst reports in the information flow surrounding the valuation of companies, the second and third essays then examine to what extent and which categories of intangibles management teams and financial analysts focus on in annual reports and analyst reports, respectively. Differences in focus are analysed to ascertain if there is an information gap with regard to the categories of intangibles management teams and financial analysts centre their reports on. The findings that both parties focus their disclosures of information on intangibles upon R&D and different company relations, form the base of the fourth essay. In this essay it is examined if information related to the signing of an R&D collaboration agreement de facto is valued by investors on the stock market. Throughout the empirical studies, the focus is on Nordic companies belonging to the knowledge-intense industries: pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and health care equipment & supplies. (Less)
Brazilian Exports: Climbing Down a Competitiveness Cliff

This note examines in detail Brazil’s export performance over the past 15 years, focusing not only on growth and composition, but also on different performance dimensions, including diversification, sophistication, and firm dynamics. The analysis uses international comparisons to better situate the Brazilian performance, and explores different databases, including firm-level data recently published by the World Bank. The note uses a recent diagnostic toolkit developed by the World Bank in order to suggest some hypotheses about the factors that have been inhibiting exports and industrial production expansion. Among the latter, it is noted how service sectors, as the largest beneficiaries from favorable terms of trade, accommodated larger wage increases and"exported"cost pressures to other sectors of the economy. Furthermore, although a stronger currency can be appointed as one of the elements behind the lower competitiveness in Brazilian exports, sluggish productivity performance and a real wage uptrend explain a significant part of the overall loss of competitiveness. This diagnostic reinforces the importance of resuming the agenda of microeconomic reforms, increasing the investment-to-gross domestic product ratio, and advancing toward better-skilled human capital.
A gene cluster encoding cholesterol catabolism in a soil actinomycete provides insight into Mycobacterium tuberculosis survival in macrophages

Rhodococcus sp. strain RHA1, a soil bacterium related to Mycobacterium tuberculosis, degrades an exceptionally broad range of organic compounds. Transcriptomic analysis of cholesterol-grown RHA1 revealed a catabolic pathway predicted to proceed via 4-androstene-3,17-dione and 3,4-dihydroxy-9,10-seconandrost-1,3,5(10)-triene-9,17-dione (3,4-DHSA). Inactivation of each of the hsaC, supAB, and mce4 genes in RHA1 substantiated their roles in cholesterol catabolism. Moreover, the hsaC− mutant accumulated 3,4-DHSA, indicating that HsaCRHA1, formerly annotated as a biphenyl-degrading dioxygenase, catalyzes the oxygenolytic cleavage of steroid ring A. Bioinformatic analyses revealed that 51 rhodococcal genes specifically expressed during growth on cholesterol, including all predicted to specify the catabolism of rings A and B, are conserved within an 82-gene cluster in M. tuberculosis H37Rv and Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette–Guérin. M. bovis bacillus Calmette–Guérin grew on cholesterol, and hsaC and kshA were up-regulated under these conditions. Heterologously produced HsaCH37Rv and HsaDH37Rv transformed 3,4-DHSA and its ring-cleaved product, respectively, with apparent specificities ≈40-fold higher than for the corresponding biphenyl metabolites. Overall, we annotated 28 RHA1 genes and proposed physiological roles for a similar number of mycobacterial genes. During survival of M. tuberculosis in the macrophage, these genes are specifically expressed, and many appear to be essential. We have delineated a complete suite of genes necessary for microbial steroid degradation, and pathogenic mycobacteria have been shown to catabolize cholesterol. The results suggest that cholesterol metabolism is central to M. tuberculosis's unusual ability to survive in macrophages and provide insights into potential targets for novel therapeutics.
Voluntary Disclosure of Management Earnings Forecasts in Ipos and the Impact on Underpricing and Post - Issue Return Performance

Underpricing and post - issue return performance of Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) has long been a subject of extensive research and debate. While a variety of explanations for both have been put forward, asymmetric information between the owner/managers (insiders) and the investing public (outsiders) has factored as one of the main explanations. In this paper, we test for one mechanism designed to alleviate asymmetric information, namely, the voluntary disclosure of management earnings forecasts by issuers of IPOs. Our results indicate that the voluntary disclosure of forecasts has had a significant impact on both underpricing and post - issue return performance.
Cost and efficiency in clinical trials: the U.S. Physicians' Health Study.

The U.S. Physicians' Health Study, a primary prevention trial of low-dose aspirin in the reduction of cardiovascular disease and of beta-carotene in lowering cancer risk, implemented a number of design strategies to decrease costs and increase efficiency. These included the choice of physicians as the study population, use of a factorial design, implementation of a pre-randomization run-in phase, and the collection of pre-randomization blood specimens. The use of these strategies enabled us to enroll 22,071 subjects and maintain high compliance and long-term follow-up at a fraction of the usual cost of large-scale trials of primary prevention.
Uricase formulated with polyethylene glycol (uricase-PEG 20): biochemical rationale and preclinical studies.

OBJECTIVE Humans have a non-sense codon inserted into the 5 prime end of the open reading frame of urate oxidase, and thus express an enzymatically inactive fragment of this enzyme; and consequently are unable to metabolize uric acid into allantoin and are prone to develop hyperuricemia and gout. Various urate oxidases (uricase) from mammals and microorganisms have been administered to humans with hyperuricemia and gout. Although successful in lowering plasma uric acid, these therapies have had limited application due to undesirable biochemical properties of the enzymes used, the short circulating half-life, and inherent antigenicity of these preparations. METHODS We compared urate oxidase from a variety of sources for specific enzyme activity, pH optimum, affinity, and retention of enzyme activity under physiological conditions. A variety of polyethylene glycols (PEG) were tested to formulate uricase. RESULTS Urate oxidase from Candida utilis had more favorable enzymatic properties and PEG of 20,000 MW (termed uricase-PEG 20) had greatly reduced antigenicity and increased circulating half-life as compared to those previously described. CONCLUSION It is anticipated that uricase-PEG 20 may have utility as a treatment for hyperuricemia and gout.
Who are the Beneficiaries When Insiders Trade? An Examination of Piggybacking in the Brokerage Industry

We study the impact of brokerage relations with company insiders on insider-affiliated market makers' quoting behavior and the possibility of information leakage via piggybacking when insiders trade. We find that market makers affiliated with the brokers used by insiders post more aggressive ask quotes vis-a-vis their peers during periods when insiders trade. This aggressiveness is partially attributable to the pressure to complete sell orders for their company insider clients. However, we also find that this behavior is dependent on the management role of the insider and the degree of information asymmetry as measured by a) the number of analysts following the company, b) analyst forecast dispersion, c) bid-ask spread of the stock and d) post-event stock return. In addition, piggybacking diminishes when the firm of the broker-dealer making markets has had a prior investment banking business relationship with the company. The findings suggest that in addition to the volume of insider trades, the potential information content of insider trades also affects insider-affiliated market makers' abnormal quoting behavior. We find that this information leakage through insiders' brokers results in trading based on information signaled by those insiders.
Ultrasound Biomicroscopy in the Subtypes of Primary Angle Closure Glaucoma

Purpose:To evaluate the anterior segment parameters in the subtypes of primary angle closure glaucoma (PACG) using ultrasound biomicroscopy. Methods:Five groups, each comprising 30 consecutive patients, diagnosed to have subacute PACG, acute PACG, chronic PACG, primary open angle glaucoma (POAG), and healthy controls were included in the present study. All patients underwent slit-lamp biomicroscopy, direct ophthalmoscopy, 90D fundus examination, gonioscopy, applanation tonometry, visual field testing, A-scan biometry, and ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM). The anterior segment parameters recorded included: trabecular-iris angle, angle opening distance, trabecular ciliary process distance, and the iris thickness among other parameters. Results:On ultrasound biomicroscopy the trabecular iris angle of control and POAG groups was more than all the subtypes of PACG (P < 0.001). The trabecular iris angle of subacute PACG (P < 0.001) and chronic PACG (P = 0.003) was more than acute PACG. Angle opening distance of controls and POAG group was significantly more than acute PACG and chronic PACG (P < 0.001). The trabecular ciliary process distance of POAG group and controls was more than subacute PACG, acute PACG, and chronic PACG. The trabecular ciliary process distance of subacute PACG (P < 0.001) and chronic PACG (P < 0.001) was more than acute PACG. Eyes with acute PACG had the least iris thickness at the three different positions tested. There was a positive correlation between the anterior chamber angle (trabecular iris angle) and the following parameters: trabecular ciliary process distance, angle opening distance, anterior chamber depth, and the axial length (r2 = 0.57). Conclusion:Eyes with primary angle closure glaucoma have a thinner iris with a shorter trabecular iris angle, angle opening distance, and trabecular ciliary process distance. The eyes with acute primary angle closure glaucoma have the narrowest angle recess.
An Analysis of the Australian Foreign Exchange Market Response to Monetary Policy Announcements and Explanatory Minute Releases

In US and European jurisdictions, monetary policy announcements that set a target interest rate for overnight loans are followed promptly by projections materials or statements that explain the deliberation process. In Australia however, these releases are made separately with the announcement of the monthly target interbank cash rate for overnight loans being provided two weeks before the release of the minutes of the Reserve Bank board meeting that explicate the rate outcome. This study exploits this unique feature of the Australian monetary policy environment in order to examine the differential impact of monetary policy announcements and explanatory minute releases on the Australian foreign exchange market. Our results indicate that unexpected monetary policy announcements and explanatory minute releases have a significant impact on the Australian foreign exchange market. When this impact is differentiated, the informational content of an explanatory minutes release is shown to elicit a larger response. Further, conditioning on the state of the economy shows that returns following unexpected monetary policy announcements (explanatory minute releases) intensify (wane) during the Global Financial Crisis and are influenced by sentiment.
Sports and Real Estate Development As Tools for Changing Patterns of Regional Economic Activity: Managing the Effects of Teams and Venues on Local Communities.

While the ways in which fans interact and consume sports has evolved in response to new and broadcast media, the most profound change for cities from sports is its linkage to real estate development. This emerging dimension to the ability of sports to redistribute regional economic activity creates critical public policy, business, and urban planning outcomes and potential. This dissertation identifies the ways in which the sports business has changed and illustrates the ways in which these effects can be channeled to benefit cities. For desired outcomes to occur, however, management and administrative systems have to be created that permit cities to realize the possible advantages. It is also possible that the ways in which sports projects are explained and presented to voters also needs to be changed. These understandings are vital because the positive outcomes for cities from sports and real estate development cannot occur without new decision-making presentations and management systems. This dissertation contributes to a greater understanding of these new requirements and the relationship between sports and real estate development (and its effects on cities) through three separate studies centered on the issues of decision-making, urban planning, and economic and neighborhood development. The research is fashioned to examine processes, designs, and approaches that increase the probability of gains for both teams and the public sector in their development partnerships. The research efforts are interconnected in that they contribute to and expand upon an innovative, developing thread of scholarship in the spatial effects of sports for local economies. Each study covers an important segment of the sports and urban development process that frames this new approach to sport management. The studies focus on (a) voter preferences and reactions to public subsidies for sports facility construction, (b) planned and unforeseen outcomes of a master planned neighborhood anchored by a new ballpark, and (c) the formation of the needed organizational structures to ensure outcomes from a linkage of sports to real estate development can be facilitated to produce desired local effects.
Immune System Phenotyping of Radiation and Radiation Combined Injury in Outbred Mice

The complexity of a radionuclear event would be immense due to varying levels of radiation exposures and injuries caused by blast-associated trauma. With this scenario in mind, we developed a mouse model to mimic as closely as possible the potential consequences of radiation injury and radiation combined injury (RCI) on survival, immune system phenotype, and immune function. Using a mouse burn injury model and a 137CsCl source irradiator to induce injuries, we report that the immunological response to radiation combined injury differs significantly from radiation or burn injury alone. Mice that underwent radiation combined injury showed lower injury survival and cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) induced polymicrobial sepsis survival rates than mice with single injuries. As anticipated, radiation exposure caused dose-dependent losses of immune cell subsets. We found B and T cells to be more radiation sensitive, while macrophages, dendritic cells and NK cells were relatively more resistant. However, radiation and radiation combined injury did induce significant increases in the percentages of CD4+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) and a subset of macrophages that express cell-surface GR-1 (GR-1+ macrophages). Immune system phenotyping analysis indicated that spleen cells from radiation combined injury mice produced higher levels of proinflammatory cytokines than cells from mice with radiation or burn injury alone, especially at lower dose radiation exposure levels. Interestingly, this enhanced proinflammatory phenotype induced by radiation combined injury persisted for at least 28 days after injury. In total, our data provide baseline information on differences in immune phenotype and function between radiation injury and radiation combined injury in mice. The establishment of this animal model will aid in future testing for therapeutic strategies to mitigate the immune and pathophysiological consequences of radionuclear events.
C4 Photosynthesis at Low Temperature. A Study Using Transgenic Plants with Reduced Amounts of Rubisco1

C4 plants are rare in the cool climates characteristic of high latitudes and elevations, but the reasons for this are unclear. We tested the hypothesis that CO2 fixation by Rubisco is the rate-limiting step during C4 photosynthesis at cool temperatures. We measured photosynthesis and chlorophyll fluorescence from 6°C to 40°C, and in vitro Rubisco and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase activity from 0°C to 42°C, in Flaveria bidentis modified by an antisense construct (targeted to the nuclear-encoded small subunit of Rubisco, anti-RbcS) to have 49% and 32% of the wild-type Rubisco content. Photosynthesis was reduced at all temperatures in the anti-Rbcs plants, but the thermal optimum for photosynthesis (35°C) did not differ. The in vitro turnover rate (kcat) of fully carbamylated Rubisco was 3.8 mol mol–1 s–1 at 24°C, regardless of genotype. The in vitro kcat (Rubisco Vcmax per catalytic site) and in vivo kcat (gross photosynthesis per Rubisco catalytic site) were the same below 20°C, but at warmer temperatures, the in vitro capacity of the enzyme exceeded the realized rate of photosynthesis. The quantum requirement of CO2 assimilation increased below 25°C in all genotypes, suggesting greater leakage of CO2 from the bundle sheath. The Rubisco flux control coefficient was 0.68 at the thermal optimum and increased to 0.99 at 6°C. Our results thus demonstrate that Rubisco capacity is a principle control over the rate of C4 photosynthesis at low temperatures. On the basis of these results, we propose that the lack of C4 success in cool climates reflects a constraint imposed by having less Rubisco than their C3 competitors.
Trajectory-free reactive stepping of humanoid robots using momentum control

Momentum control approaches have been successfully applied to balance controllers for humanoid robots due to their integrated controllability of ground reaction force and the center of pressure. In this paper, we introduce a trajectory-free reactive stepping controller using momentum control. The controller is characterized by moving passively in the direction of external pushes without attempting to follow some prescribed trajectory, thereby achieving a natural reactive stepping behavior adaptive to various perturbations. Constructed on top of momentum control, our stepping controller is realized straightforwardly by setting a set of suitable inputs such as the desired momentum rate change and the target swing foot position to the momentum controller for each phase of stepping. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach through various simulation experiments on a humanoid robot model.
An evaluation of decision tree and survival analysis techniques for business failure prediction

Accurate business failure prediction models would be extremely valuable to many industry sectors, particularly in financial investment and lending. The potential value of such models has been recently emphasised by the extremely costly failure of high profile businesses in both Australia and overseas, such as HIH (Australia) and Enron (USA). Consequently, there has been a significant increase in interest in business failure prediction, from both industry and academia. Statistical models attempt to predict the failure or success of a business based on publicly available information about that business (or its industry and the overall economy), such as accounting ratios from financial statements. Discriminant and logit analyses have been the most popular approaches, but there are also a large number of alternative techniques available. This thesis reviews the various techniques used in previous studies, and presents the results obtained from using two alternative techniques that have shown promise, namely survival analysis and decision trees. These techniques have been compared with the more popular techniques and to each other. Overall, the results suggest that decision trees provide the most accurate predictions of business failure. In addition, while survival analysis techniques are slightly less accurate than other techniques they provide more information that can be used to further the understanding of the business failure process.
The prediction of genetic structure of East African smallholder dairy cattle

Identification of genetic structure and estimation of individual breed proportions in livestock species based on molecular data have become important tools in improvement of breeding programs in the developed world. In this study, we have applied high density SNP assays to understand genetic structure and breed composition of a developing world smallholder dairy system, which does not have pedigree records. Approximately 2000 East African smallholder crossbred dairy cattle were genotyped for 770k SNP. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to identify the genetic structure and the ADMIXTURE program was used to estimate the proportional breed composition of individual animals. Genomic prediction and farmer prediction for breed proportions were compared. PCA revealed that the range of breed composition of small holder dairy cattle is much larger than commonly believed. The correlation between breed proportion estimated using ADMIXTURE and the farmer’s assessment of breed proportion was only 0.4, revealing that in this system farmers do not have a good understanding of the breed composition of their animals. This will be a problem to be overcome if farmers are to make optimum breeding choices to produce replacement heifers.