Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The impact of non‐mandatory corporate governance on auditors’ client acceptance, risk and planning judgments

Abstract We examine the effect of non‐mandatory corporate governance practices on a comprehensive set of audit judgments.1 We provide initial evidence on how auditors respond to corporate governance in an institutional environment where corporate governance is not mandated by law. Based on the agency and resource dependence theories, we hypothesise associations between corporate governance and auditors’ judgments relating to client acceptance, risk assessments, and the extent and timing of substantive testing. Sixty Big 4 audit managers from Singapore are randomly assigned to one of three experimental conditions comprising weak, moderate and strong corporate governance. Our results show auditors make more favourable client acceptance judgments when corporate governance is stronger. Clients with stronger corporate governance are assessed as having lower control environment risk. After controlling for control environment risk, we find that stronger corporate governance increases auditors’ reliance on the client's internal controls and reduces the extent of substantive tests. When corporate governance is stronger, we observe that auditors conduct more substantive testing during the interim period compared to the year‐end. Our findings suggest that audit strategies are responsive to the strength of a client's corporate governance.
Outside Board Human Capital and Early Stage High–Tech Firm Performance

Early stage high–tech firms are confronted with a number of challenges related to the homogeneous and technical nature of the start–up team. Attracting outside board members can alleviate these challenges and consequently enhance firm performance. Building on team production and human capital theory, we study how outside board human capital affects technological and market performance. Our results, based on a longitudinal panel data set consisting of 562 firm–year observations in 80 young high–tech ventures in Belgium, show that outside board–specific experience, diversity, and tenure are important determinants of firm performance. We discuss implications for research and practice.
A Fault-Hiding Approach for the Switching Quasi-LPV Fault-Tolerant Control of a Four-Wheeled Omnidirectional Mobile Robot

This paper proposes a reference model approach for the trajectory tracking of a four-wheeled omnidirectional mobile robot. In particular, the error model is brought to a quasi-linear-parameter-varying (LPV) form suitable for designing an error-feedback controller. It is shown that, if polytopic techniques are used to reduce the number of constraints from infinite to finite, a solution within the standard LPV framework could not exist due to a singularity that appears in the possible values of the input matrix. Adding a switching component to the controller allows solving this problem. Moreover, a switching LPV virtual actuator is added to the control loop in order to obtain fault tolerance within the fault-hiding paradigm, keeping the stability and some desired performances under the effect of actuator faults without the need of retuning the nominal controller. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is shown and proved through simulation and experimental results.
Symptom structure in Japanese patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

OBJECTIVE Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) comprises a number of specific symptom dimensions. The authors factor analyzed data on the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale symptom checklist in a large group of Japanese OCD patients to examine whether symptom dimensions were stable across cultures. METHOD A principal components analysis of Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale major symptom categories was performed on Japanese OCD patients (N=343). The association between symptom dimensions and clinical variables, including 1-year outcome after combination treatment, was also examined using Pearson correlations. RESULTS Four factors explaining 57.7% of the variance were identified: 1) contamination/washing, 2) hoarding, 3) symmetry/repeating and ordering, and 4) aggressive/checking symptoms. The symmetry dimension was associated with early age at onset, and both the symmetry and hoarding dimensions were associated with decreased functioning and treatment resistance. CONCLUSIONS The findings in this study support transcultural stability in the symptom structure of OCD, which is consistent with the hypothesis that OCD is mediated by universal psychobiological mechanisms.
Exchange rate uncertainty and corporate values: evidence from Taiwan

This article first presents a derivation of a theoretical model, which shows that, if the discount rate is large enough, the exchange rate uncertainty (volatility) affects positively the corporate values under the circumstance where competitive firms are risk-averse. Empirical studies are then implemented to test for the relationships between the uncertainty and the corporate values among ten industries investigated in Taiwan. The empirical evidence indicates that there exist long-run equilibrium relationships between the uncertainty and the corporate values among the industries of food, glass, electricity, paper, rubber and steel. The corporate values for each industry are also significantly affected by their previous-period values. Using the Granger causality test for the other four industries, the results find that this uncertainty only has a one-way leading effect on itself.
Local nitric oxide release does not affect tachyphylaxis to angiotensin II in dorsal hand veins in man in the presence of prostaglandin synthesis inhibition.

AIMS Local prostaglandin (PG) production contributes to tachyphylaxis to angiotensin II (ANGII) in veins. Our aim was to assess the hypothesis that local nitric oxide (NO) generation is also, in part, responsible for tachyphylaxis to ANGII in veins, using the Aellig dorsal hand vein technique. METHODS Eight healthy male volunteers received 600 mg of aspirin (orally) to inhibit PG production. The venoconstrictor effects of ANGII and noradrenaline (NA) were then compared in dorsal hand veins during co-infusion of the NO synthase inhibitor L-NMMA or saline, on separate occasions. RESULTS ANGII and NA produced a similar degree of initial venoconstriction. However, the response to ANGII was significantly attenuated by 12 min compared with NA (AUC 147 +/- 38 vs 196 +/- 40, respectively; [95% confidence interval for difference: 7, 92], P = 0.02). Infusion of L-NMMA did not influence the response to ANGII or NA (P = 0.2 and P = 0.3, respectively). CONCLUSIONS Tachyphylaxis to ANGII in dorsal hand veins is not dependent on local NO release.
Codecision and institutional change

This article examines the sources and processes of institutional change in one important aspect of EU politics – the legislative procedure of codecision – and shows how interstitial change of institutions that emerges between formal Treaty revisions and under specific conditions may be formalised in subsequent formal Treaty reforms. We develop two related models of Treaty change. First, in a ‘simple’ model, informal rules will be formalised in the Treaty text where all member states are in agreement, and will be rolled back when all member states oppose them; otherwise they will continue in existence at the informal level. Second, in a more complex framework, actors that have effective veto powers in a related arena may make credible threats that allow them to press member states into formalising informal rules, provided that member states are not unanimously opposed to this formalisation. We empirically assess our claims in the light of several instances of informal rules applied in the codecision procedure.
Integrin-linked kinase – essential roles in physiology and cancer biology

Integrin-linked kinase (ILK) is a multifunctional intracellular effector of cell-matrix interactions and regulates many cellular processes, including growth, proliferation, survival, differentiation, migration, invasion and angiogenesis. The use of recently developed Cre-lox-driven recombination and RNA-interference technologies has enabled the evaluation of the physiological roles of ILK in several major organ systems. Significant developmental and tissue-homeostasis defects occur when the gene that encodes ILK is deleted, whereas the expression of ILK is often elevated in human malignancies. Although the cause(s) of ILK overexpression remain to be fully elucidated, accumulating evidence suggests that its oncogenic capacity derives from its regulation of several downstream targets that provide cells with signals that promote proliferation, survival and migration, supporting the concept that ILK is a relevant therapeutic target in human cancer. Furthermore, a global analysis of the ILK `interactome' has yielded several novel interactions, and has revealed exciting and unexpected cellular functions of ILK that might have important implications for the development of effective therapeutic agents.
Why do top management teams look the way they do? A multilevel exploration of the antecedents of TMT heterogeneity

While individual-level social psychological processes may promote top management team (TMT) homogeneity, a number of organizational and environmental factors pose requirements for increasing TMT heterogeneity. These opposing mechanisms lead to different predictions regarding the outcome of the TMT selection process. This article investigates the interactions between the different level factors influencing TMT heterogeneity in order to determine under what conditions pressures towards heterogeneity prevail over the tendency towards homosocial reproduction. Based on a panel dataset of 165 Swiss listed companies, the results of hierarchical linear model (HLM) analyses provide support for attraction—selection—attrition (ASA) and similarity— attraction tendencies. Newly appointed TMT members were more likely to be similar to the rest of the team when the prior degree of homogeneity in the TMT was high. However, this tendency was lower in firms with a high degree of internationalization or facing dynamic industry environments. At the same time, munificent industries amplify tendencies towards TMT homogeneity.
Savings memory is accompanied by transcriptional changes that persist beyond the decay of recall

Most long-term memories are forgotten. What happens, then, to the changes in neuronal gene expression that were initially required to encode and maintain the memory? Here we show that the decay of recall for long-term sensitization memory in Aplysia is accompanied both by a form of savings memory (easier relearning) and by persistent transcriptional regulation. A behavioral experiment (N = 14) shows that sensitization training produces a robust long-term sensitization memory, but that recall fades completely within 1 wk. This apparent forgetting, though, is belied by persistent savings memory, as we found that a weak reminder protocol reinstates a long-term sensitization memory only on the previously trained side of the body. Using microarray (N = 8 biological replicates), we found that transcriptional regulation largely decays along with recall. Of the transcripts known to be regulated 1 d after training, 98% (1172/1198) are no longer significantly regulated 7 d after training. Still, there is a small set of transcripts which remain strongly regulated even when recall is absent. Using qPCR (N = 11 additional biological replicates) we confirmed that these include the peptide transmitter FMRFamide, a transcript encoding a putative homolog of spectrin beta chain (Genbank: EB255259), a transcript encoding a protein with a predicted EF-hand calcium-binding domain (Genbank: EB257711), and eight uncharacterized transcripts. To our knowledge, this is the first work to show that transcriptional changes evoked by learning can outlast recall. The small set of transcriptional changes that persist could mediate the rapid relearning of the memory (savings), or the decay of recall, or both, or neither.
Antibody-Mediated Neutralization of Pertussis Toxin-Induced Mitogenicity of Human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells

ABSTRACT Antibody-mediated neutralization of pertussis toxin-induced proliferation of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) was assessed using alamarBlue and compared with results from the Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell assay using sera from vaccinated adults and convalescent children. Neutralization values for the CHO assay were similar for vaccinated and convalescent subjects; however. the convalescent group had higher titers in the PBMC assay. Results for pertussis toxin neutralization with the CHO assay appear to be distinct from those with the PBMC assay.
Lactobacillus effects on cholesterol: in vitro and in vivo results.

A double blind investigation was conducted on the influence of a commercially available tablet containing Lactobacillus acidophilus and Lactobacillus bulgaricus (Lactinex Becton Dickinson Microbiology Systems, Cockeysville, MD) on human serum lipoprotein concentrations. Tablets containing about 2 X 10(6) viable bacteria of Lactobacillus mixtures or placebo tablets were ingested by 354 nonfasting informed subjects in a dose of one tablet each, taken four times a day. There was a 3-wk washout period between two 6-wk treatment periods. The number of viable lactobacillus in unused returned tablets was the same at the end of the study as in the beginning. Analysis of paired data using Wilcoxon signed ranks test showed no major effects on lipoprotein concentrations for either the placebo-treated group or the lactobacilli-treated group. There were no statistically significant differences for low density lipoprotein concentrations between the lactobacilli-treated group and the placebo-treated group. The high density lipoprotein concentrations increased 1.8 to 3.0 mg/dl in both groups for both study periods. For total cholesterol the placebo-treated group experienced a statistically significant increase in the first period according to the Wilcoxon signed ranks test (from 208.0 to 215.0 mg/dl, P less than .001) but not according to a two-sample Student t test. Total cholesterol did not change significantly for the Lactobacillus-treated group in either period. Cardiac risk factor (ratio of total cholesterol to high density cholesterol) did not vary during the study. Lipoprotein values increased immediately following vigorous exercise compared with following 15 min of resting without either placebo or treatment. Sample controls for assay and reassay gave virtually identical values (coefficient of variation 1.6%), confirming that assay results were quite reliable. Thus, ingestion of commercially available Lactobacillus tablets, which contain about 2 X 10(6) cfu/tablet of L. acidophilus and L. bulgaricus cells in a dose of four tablets daily did not affect serum lipoprotein concentrations.
Immunologic Response to Inhaled Endotoxin: Changes in Peripheral Cell Surface Markers in Normal Individuals

Monocyte cell surface CD14 increases following both in vitro challenge with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and exposure to organic dusts. We investigated 9 volunteers, mean age 39 years (range, 29–53 years). Each inhaled increasing concentrations of lipopolysaccharide (0.5 μg, 5.0 μg, and 20 μg). Monocyte cell surface CD14 (expressed as mean linear fluorescence) was measured before and after using flow cytometry. Upregulation of CD14 (up to 6 hours after LPS exposure) did not differ significantly between LPS (mean, 35.8; standard deviation [SD]; 54.3), n = 7 after 20l g LPS) in comparison to placebo (39.3 [49.0]; n = 7). Maximum mean (SD) percentage CD14 upregulation up to 6 hours after challenge differed, but not significantly between those experiencing a clinically significant event (58.4 [49.2]) in comparison to those who did not (13.8, [43.2]; P = 0.27). Two individuals with a marked clinical response developed marked CD14 upregulation after exposure to LPS.
Two Distinct Chondroitin Sulfate ABC Lyases

Crude enzyme obtained from chondroitin sulfate-induced Proteus vulgaris NCTC 4636 has been fractionated into 1) an endoeliminase capable of depolymerizing chondroitin sulfate and related polysaccharides to produce, as end products, a mixture of Δ4-unsaturated tetra- and disaccharides and 2) an exoeliminase preferentially acting on chondroitin sulfate tetra- and hexasaccharides to yield the respective disaccharides. Isolation of the two enzymes was achieved by a simple two-step procedure: extracting the enzymes from intact P. vulgaris cells with a buffer solution of nonionic surfactant and then treating the extract by cation-exchange chromatography. Each of the enzymes thus prepared was apparently homogeneous as assessed by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and readily crystallized from polyethylene glycol solutions. Both enzymes acted on various substrates such as chondroitin sulfate, chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan, and dermatan sulfate at high, but significantly different, initial rates. They also attacked hyaluronan but at far lower rates and were inactive to keratan sulfate, heparan sulfate, and heparin. Our results show that the known ability of the conventional enzyme called “chondroitinase ABC” to catalyze the complete depolymerization of chondroitin sulfates to unsaturated disaccharides may actually result from the combination reactions by endoeliminase (chondroitin sulfate ABC endolyase) and exoeliminase (chondroitin sulfate ABC exolyase).
A Spatial Approach To Measure Productivity Spillovers Of Foreign Affiliated Firms In Turkish Manufacturing Industries

In this paper we aim to analyze the productivity spillovers of foreign affiliated and domestic firms in Turkish manufacturing industries. As a novelty inter-sectoral linkages are modeled through the use of spatial models. Our results indicate the existence of positive and significant productivity spillovers among the neighborhood firms. We also find that an increase in the share of foreign affiliated firms in a given industry has positive impact on the productivity level of vertically related industries. However, our results do not provide any clear evidence that domestic firms benefit from the foreign affiliated firms either operating in the same industry or in the neighborhood industries. The findings suggest that unlike the effects of foreign affiliated firms, research and development expenditures significantly contribute to the productivity levels of domestic firms.
The relationship of Hepatitis C and B with diabet es of Yemeni patients

Many of earlier reports suggest a connection betwee n hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and type2 diabe tes (T2D). However, the results are conflicting. The aim of ou r study was to investigate the seroprevalence of bo th HCV infections and hepatitis B virus (HBV) in type 2 di abetes mellitus (DM) patients in Yemen as well as t he risk of hepatitis for development diabetes mellitus.120 pat ients were enrolled for this study: 50 patients wit h T2D, 70 with chronic hepatitis(29 with HCV,36 with HBV and 5 were infections with HCV and HBV) along with 50 healthy control. Investigated hepatitis C and B patients fo r blood sugar, determined hepatitis B surface antig en (HBsAg) and anti-HCV in both groups, measured by chromatographic and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELSIA). We found that in T2D-patients 7 out of 50 (14%) detect ed with hepatitis, 5 (10 %) of 50 T2D-patients had evidence of HCV infection compared to 2 (4%) with HBV. The development diabetic mellitus among 70 hepatitis C and B patients 8 out of 70 (11.4%), 3 HBV 36 (8.3%), 4 HCV 29 (13.7%), 1 Co-infection HBV and HCV 5 (20%) compared to 1 (2%) without association in 50 contro l adults. The antibodies levels in T2D-patients wit h HCV viremia were significantly higher than those in HBV patients. HCV viremia, sex, age, family history of diabetes and tobacco use was found to be difference independent risk factors for diabetes.
Did Venus Have Long Legs? Beauty Standards from Various Historical Periods Reflected in Works of Art

Research on perception of attractiveness of leg-to-body ratio (LBR) described here has shown that people prefer relatively long-legged silhouettes (particularly while assessing women). The LBR of attractive women over historical periods (analyses of attractive silhouettes from paintings, sculptures, etc) has been more changeable than that of men. The findings reported here might represent evidence against the cross-cultural universality of the attractiveness of long legs.
Analyzing health surveys for cancer-related objectives.

Large-scale health surveys conducted by government agencies record information on a large number of health-related variables. We review the use of these data for performing analyses that address cancer-related objectives. After describing the conduct of a large-scale health survey (the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey [NHANES III]), we discuss some of the issues involved in analyzing data collected in such a survey. In particular, the use of sample weights in the analysis and the importance of accounting for the complex survey design when estimating standard errors are discussed. Six applications are then presented that involve the following: 1) estimating demographic factors associated with snuff use, 2) estimating the association of type of health insurance with the probability of receiving a digital rectal examination, 3) estimating the association of body iron stores with the probability of later developing cancer, 4) estimating the changing rates of mammography screening in the United States between 1987 and 1992, 5) evaluating smoking and alcohol consumption as risk factors for digestive cancer by use of a population-based, case-control study, and 6) evaluating a randomized community-intervention experiment to encourage smoking cessation. These applications use data from the National Health Interview Survey, the NHANES I Epidemiologic Followup Study, the 1986 National Mortality Followback Survey, and the Community Intervention Trial for Smoking Cessation. The availability of public-use data files is discussed for surveys sponsored by the U.S. government that collect health-related information. We demonstrate that statistical methods and computer software are available for analyzing public-use data files of surveys to address different types of cancer-related objectives.
Takeovers, Ownership, and Shareholder Wealth — The Australian Evidence

We examine the relationship between value, ownership, and governance structures for a set of acquisitions by Australian companies over the period of 1994–2001. We find that the propensity to diversify increases with the equity ownership of firms' directors, whereas the composition of the board, the presence of block holders and their ownership does not materially affect the decision to diversify. Board size has a positive but weak impact on the tendency to diversify. We also find no significant negative wealth effects for the shareholders of diversifying firms, although in comparison the shareholders of non‐diversifying acquirers experience significantly positive upward revisions of firm values. Although method of payment influences acquirer returns, ownership and governance do not have any impact on announcement period returns. Our results support the notion that capital markets may consider the ownership and governance structures as exerting enough influence to overcome any costs imposed by diversification strategies, hence limiting value loss to the shareholders.