Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Market Varying Conditional Risk-Return Relationship

Unlike previous studies conducted on Pakistan, this article attempts to test the validity of conditional relationship between beta and cross-sectional returns of individual securities listed in Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE), wherein the up and down market periods are separated. The risk-return relationship is also tested using the conventional CAPM to compare the results of both models. The return on market portfolio and risk free asset is proxied by KSE-100 share index return and three months T-bill. Fama and McBeth (1973) and Pettengill, et al. (1995) methods are used to test conventional and conditional risk-return relationship, respectively. The analysis is performed on individual stocks of thirty companies over the period 2004 to 2012. Findings indicate a consistent and significant positive risk return relationship in up market periods where market excess returns are positive; whereas, an inverse risk-return relationship is not proved in down market periods where market excess returns are negative. Furthermore, the study finds no support for symmetry between up and down market periods. The major implication of the analysis is that beta can be a useful measure of risk only in up markets periods.
Mental disorders diagnosed in childhood and at‐risk mental state in a help‐seeking population

Disorders usually first diagnosed in infancy, childhood or adolescence (DUFD‐ICA) may have preceded the onset of psychosis by several years and share some co‐morbidity with psychotic disorders, but only a few studies have investigated this aspect. We looked for past or current DUFD‐ICA in a sample of first adult psychiatric service users assessed for the presence of an at‐risk mental state with the Structured Interview for Psychosis‐risk Syndromes (SIPS).
Cooperative research Program Goals in New england : Perceptions of active Commercial Fishermen

Cooperative fisheries research will continue to expand throughout the United states with the 2007 reauthorization of the Magnuson-stevens Act, which called for the development of regionally-based cooperative research programs nationwide. We report on a survey of individuals actively engaged in commercial fishing in New England (N = 295) that asked how important and achievable cooperative research programmatic goals are and why. One goal, “the promotion of partnerships between fishermen and scientists,” was particularly important to fishermen because partnerships are believed to be in everyone’s interests, enhance the quality of the science, lead to better management decisions, improve the professional relationships between fishermen and scientists, and speak to a fishermen’s sense of professional duty. however, fewer respondents considered the partnership goal achievable because of a wide range of obstacles. Based upon the findings and published studies on the perceptions of scientists and mangers, we discuss recommendations for cooperative research managers. Feature: hUMAN DIMENsIONs troy W. hartley and robert a. robertson hartley is Virginia sea Grant director and is a research associate professor at the Virginia Institute of Marine sciences, College of William and Mary, Gloucester Point. he may be contacted at thartley@ vims.edu. Robertson is an associate professor in the Department of Resource Economics and Development, University of New hampshire, Durham. Objetivos del Programa Cooperativo de investigación en Nueva inglaterra: percepciones de los Pescadores
Influence of premorbid factors on survival following subarachnoid hemorrhage.

OBJECT The goal of this study was to explore the relationships between premorbid patient characteristics, especially cigarette smoking, and the risk of death following subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). METHODS A population-based study design was used with multiple overlapping methods of case identification. A strict definition of SAH was used. Relationships between patients' age and sex as well as their cigarette smoking and hypertension statuses were explored by calculating relative risks (RRs). Confounding effects were examined using logistic regression analysis. The author identified 800 cases in which the patient had experienced his or her first SAH. Seventy-seven percent of cases were verified by review of computerized tomography scans, 22% by autopsy, and 1% by lumbar puncture. A prior history of hypertension had no effect on the risk of mortality. There was a higher case mortality rate in female patients than in male patients, but this did not reach statistical significance. The RR of death at 30 days post-SAH for patients older than 60 years compared with those who were younger was 2.95 (95% confidence interval [CI] 2.18-3.97). The RR of death at all time intervals was lower for smokers than for nonsmokers (smokers/nonsmokers RR 0.47 [95% CI 0.32-0.69] at 7 days). The protective effect of smoking diminished on Day 3 post-SAH and increased again on Day 7. CONCLUSIONS Advanced age is an important determinant of survival following SAH. Smoking appears to have a protective effect. The author presents evidence indicating that increased vasospasm in smokers may reduce the severity of the initial hemorrhage.
Outcomes Based Performance Appraisal Of Et Managers Using Forced Ranking System

Literature is replete with studies of performance appraisal systems used in Engineering Technology (ET) personnel reviews and those studies conclude that the performance appraisal systems are not above reproach, and that there are inherent problems with any performance appraisal system. A further review of literature uncovered a number of alternatives for the potential problems associated with the performance appraisal systems for technical managers, and their lack of effectiveness. For this research study, the inherent problems of performance appraisals using forced ranking system was investigated and the adverse effects of forced ranking of technical managers was examined. In many organizations peers, employees and managers have begun to experience the adverse effects of the use or misuse of forced ranking. Without warning, employees experience feelings of loss, grief and resentment for receiving the brand or label of a poor performer.  Certainly, there is a need to analyze and identify employees that require encouragement to become more productive, but a company should refrain from creating an atmosphere of fear causing its staff to question their reason for continued employment. This research was designed to determine the effect of forced ranking system (FRS) on employee performance and productivity. It is hypothesized that performance and productivity are negatively affected by a forced ranking system of performance appraisal. The null hypothesis is 2 1 : μ μ = o H . The alternate hypothesis is 2 1 1 : μ μ ≠ H . (control group = 1 and experimental group =2.) The hypothesis will be tested by the responses of a sample of respondents from business and industry.
Aging and the Immune Response to Tetanus Toxoid: Diminished Frequency and Level of Cellular Immune Reactivity to Antigenic Stimulation

ABSTRACT The period of efficacious immune reactivity afforded by tetanus immunization and the need for continuing some forms of tetanus vaccination programs have been the subjects of recent debates. Our studies demonstrate that the level of antitetanus immunity based on immunological memory (i.e., cellular immune responsiveness) varies dramatically as a function of age, with older individuals constituting a population which is increasingly susceptible to tetanus infection.
Adoption of Improved Technologies for Cotton Production

There is a widespread recognition that non –adoption of improved practices is a significant constraint on increasing cotton production and output. This constraint has persisted in spite of the fact that improved technologies for cotton production have been introduced to farmers over two decades. Government and donor agencies, like the World Bank have committed a lot of resources to rejuvenate cotton production. However, there has been no notable increase in production. The research problem centered on understanding some of the problems and challenges faced by cotton farmers. Such information is essential for a proper assessment of the need and potential of cotton farmers and would help to measure efficiency of cotton research and investment. The study examined the extent of awareness and level of adoption of improved technologies for cotton production in Katsina State. Relevant data were collected from primary and secondary sources. The primary data were collected by means of personal interview by trained enumerators in the year 2001 from 250 farmers randomly selected from three areas in the state. The list of farmers was obtained from the Zonal ADP office in the study area.
Statistical fingerprint‐based intrusion detection system (SF‐IDS)

Intrusion detection systems (IDS) are systems aimed at analyzing and detecting security problems. The IDS may be structured into misuse and anomaly detection. The former are often signature/rule IDS that detect malicious software by inspecting the content of packets or files looking for a “signature” labeling malware. They are often very efficient, but their drawback stands in the weakness of the information to check (eg, the signature), which may be quickly dated, and in the computation time because each packet or file needs to be inspected. The IDS based on anomaly detection and, in particular, on statistical analysis have been originated to bypass the mentioned problems. Instead of inspecting packets, each traffic flow is observed so getting a statistical characterization, which represents the fingerprint of the flow. This paper introduces a statistical analysis based intrusion detection system, which, after extracting the statistical fingerprint, uses machine learning classifiers to decide whether a flow is affected by malware or not. A large set of tests is presented. The obtained results allow selecting the best classifiers and show the performance of a decision maker that exploits the decisions of a bank of classifiers acting in parallel.
Social Capital in Women-Led Micro and Small Enterprises in Rural Zimbabwe

This study explores the implications of social capital for micro and small enterprises owned by women in the rural district of Chimanimani in Zimbabwe. With entrepreneurial activity being recognized as largely socially embedded, the aim of the study is to unravel the gender dimensions to social capital and how these manifest on small businesses owned by rural women. With social capital being associated with social networks, norms, and values, the findings of this study suggest that there are gender dimensions to social capital which determine women’s access to, the level of, and quality of their participation in social networks. This in turn influences the outcomes accruing to them as a result of their social capital. The existence of gendered norms and values in the community under study that largely constrain women’s choices and freedoms was concluded as confining women to smaller networks, which are dense and not diverse enough to be able to attract wider resources towards enhancing their enterprises. Women’s network activity was also seen to be limited with access to more powerful networks and positions of influence within networks largely seen to be the preserve of men. Thus as much as popular social capital literature widely acclaims the beneficial nature of social capital in enhancing economic activity, this study strongly suggests that social capital experiences and outcomes are amongst other things dependent on gender.
Properties and Dissemination of H5N1 Viruses Isolated during an Influenza Outbreak in Migratory Waterfowl in Western China

ABSTRACT H5N1 influenza A viruses are widely distributed among poultry in Asia, but until recently, only a limited number of wild birds were affected. During late April through June 2005, an outbreak of H5N1 virus infection occurred among wild birds at Qinghai Lake in China. Here, we describe the features of this outbreak. First identified in bar-headed geese, the disease soon spread to other avian species populating the lake. Sequence analysis of 15 viruses representing six avian species and collected at different times during the outbreak revealed four different H5N1 genotypes. Most of the isolates possessed lysine at position 627 in the PB2 protein, a residue known to be associated with virulence in mice and adaptation to humans. However, neither of the two index viruses possessed this residue. All of the viruses tested were pathogenic in mice, with the exception of one index virus. We also tested the replication of two viruses isolated during the Qinghai Lake outbreak and one unrelated duck H5N1 virus in rhesus macaques. The Qinghai Lake viruses did not replicate efficiently in these animals, producing no evidence of disease other than transient fever, while the duck virus replicated in multiple organs and caused symptoms of respiratory illness. Importantly, H5N1 viruses isolated in Mongolia, Russia, Inner Mongolia, and the Liaoning Province of China after August 2005 were genetically closely related to one of the genotypes isolated during the Qinghai outbreak, suggesting the dominant nature of this genotype and underscoring the need for worldwide intensive surveillance to minimize its devastating consequences.
Corporate Bond Price Reactions to Dividend Changes

Employing an event study approach, we examine 5,574 bond return reactions to unexpected quarterly dividend change announcements in the U.S. corporate bond market over the period 2002–2014. Overall, we report a significant bond price reaction in the same direction as dividend changes, which supports the hypothesis that dividend changes signal future firm performance. We also find that the bond return reaction is more pronounced if the dividends are reduced than if they are increased. We document a wealth transfer effect when riskier bonds are issued by firms with a low cash ratio and are approaching maturity. These results still hold after we control for the financial crisis and dividend covenants and when we use alternative variables to capture the dividend surprise.
Mid-Sized Italian manufacturing firms: a panel data analysis on profitability

This paper aims to provide an empirical analysis concerning the different aspects of profitability of the Italian manufacturing firms of intermediate size, namely medium and medium-large size companies, for the period 2004-2010. It analyzes various aspects of firm profitability relating corporate structures, that is, capital structure, risk component, asset composition, and growth opportunities. The study investigates firm profitability by using econometric panel-data techniques, such as the system dynamic GMM estimator that assures the robustness of our empirical analysis. One of the main results of our investigation is that we find a significant and negative impact of capital structure (i.e. leverage and tangibility) and risk component on firm profitability.
Poliovirus RNA Is Released from the Capsid near a Twofold Symmetry Axis

ABSTRACT After recognizing and binding to its host cell, poliovirus (like other nonenveloped viruses) faces the challenge of translocating its genome across a cellular membrane and into the cytoplasm. To avoid entanglement with the capsid, the RNA must exit via a single site on the virion surface. However, the mechanism by which a single site is selected (from among 60 equivalents) is unknown; and until now, even its location on the virion surface has been controversial. To help to elucidate the mechanism of infection, we have used single-particle cryo-electron microscopy and tomography to reconstruct conformationally altered intermediates that are formed by the poliovirion at various stages of the poliovirus infection process. Recently, we reported icosahedrally symmetric structures for two forms of the end-state 80S empty capsid particle. Surprisingly, RNA was frequently visible near the capsid; and in a subset of the virions, RNA was seen on both the inside and outside of the capsid, caught in the act of exiting. To visualize RNA exiting, we have now determined asymmetric reconstructions from that subset, using both single-particle cryo-electron microscopy and cryo-electron tomographic methods, producing independent reconstructions at ∼50-Å resolution. Contrary to predictions in the literature, the footprint of RNA on the capsid surface is located close to a viral 2-fold axis, covering a slot-shaped area of reduced density that is present in both of the symmetrized 80S reconstructions and which extends by about 20 Å away from the 2-fold axis toward each neighboring 5-fold axis.
The role of peer effects and the built environment on individual travel behavior

While urban planners and transportation geographers have long emphasized the importance of social influences on individual travel behavior, many challenges remain to bridge the gap between complex conceptual frameworks and operational behavioral models. Improving the ability of models to forecast activity-travel behavior can provide greater insights into urban planning issues. This paper proposes a new model framework by evaluating how individual travel behavior is influenced by inter- and intra-household interactions. The built environment, land-use mix, and social interactions influence household member choices among different transport modes. We propose a spatial multivariate Tobit specification that allows each individual to face a set of potential destinations and transport modes and takes into consideration the travel behavior of other household members and nearby neighbors. Using the Greater Cincinnati Household Travel Survey, we analyzed more than 37,000 trips made by 1968 individuals located in Hamilton County in Cincinnati, Ohio. Results reveal that social influences and the built environment have a strong impact on the willingness to walk and to cycle.
Differential Generative Adversarial Networks: Synthesizing Non-linear Facial Variations with Limited Number of Training Data

In face-related applications with a public available dataset, synthesizing non-linear facial variations (e.g., facial expression, head-pose, illumination, etc.) through a generative model is helpful in addressing the lack of training data. In reality, however, there is insufficient data to even train the generative model for face synthesis. In this paper, we propose Differential Generative Adversarial Networks (D-GAN) that can perform photo-realistic face synthesis even when training data is small. Two discriminators are devised to ensure the generator to approximate a face manifold, which can express face changes as it wants. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method is robust to the amount of training data and synthesized images are useful to improve the performance of a face expression classifier.
Capacity Analysis for Cooperative Amplify and Forward Relay MIMO in Correlated Channels

In this paper, various channel models including outdoor Stochastic Spatial Clustered (OSSC) Channel Model have been implemented to investigate and optimize the capacity of different case studies of Amplify and Forward Relay MIMO systems. Hata Model has been included in the model to consider the power dissipation due to large scale fading. Generalized analytical capacity and diversity gains formulas have been presented for different scenarios and various antenna configurations. Comparative studies and analysis for optimum cases are introduced for different MIMO antenna configurations with uniform linear arrays and uniform circular arrays with antenna spacing and the antenna structure. Changing antenna parameters on system capacity was explored on the base stations and Relays. The effect of Comparative studies were carried out where all the three systems were compared against each other keeping the upper and lower bounds, i.e. a MIMO and SISO systems. Moreover, Relay nodes location and source power allocations (The power allocation ratio between the direct link and the relay links) are optimized to obtain the best capacity under different cooperative setups and total transmission power constrain.
Customer Satisfaction as Mediator Between Website Service Quality and Repurchase Intention: An Emerging Economy Case

The purpose of this research is to develop a research model to understand the important dimensions of website service quality and its influence on repurchase intention. The study also analyzes the mediating effect of customer satisfaction on repurchase intention. The results of empirical analysis confirmed that website quality can be conceptualized as a composite of navigation, ease of understanding, information usefulness, website design, ease of use, security and privacy, ease of ordering, and customization. Second, website quality positively affects repurchase intention and customer satisfaction. Third, website service quality can affect repurchase intention by enhancing mediators like customer satisfaction, as it has full mediating effect on repurchase intention. This study has developed the instrument dimensions of website service quality in online shopping context. The study has also refined the scale of repurchase intention by including "cash-on-delivery" COD mode of payment as a new dimension to inculcate confidence for online shopping in emerging economies. The online appendix is available at http://dx.doi. org/10.1287/serv.2016. 0159 .
Evidence of Vaccine-related Reassortment of Rotavirus, Brazil, 2008–2010

Analysis of 27 rotavirus strains from vaccinated and unvaccinated children revealed reassortment events in 3 strains: a gene derived from a vaccine; a gene acquired from a circulating strain; and reassortment between circulating strains. Data suggest that the widespread use of this monovalent rotavirus vaccine may introduce vaccine genes into circulating human rotaviruses or vice versa.
exchanger inhibitor cariporide attenuates the mitochondrial Ca 2 overload and PTP opening

Toda T, Kadono T, Hoshiai M, Eguchi Y, Nakazawa S, Nakazawa H, Higashijima N, Ishida H. Na /H exchanger inhibitor cariporide attenuates the mitochondrial Ca overload and PTP opening. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 293: H3517–H3523, 2007. First published September 28, 2007; doi:10.1152/ajpheart.00483. 2006. — The Na /H exchanger (NHE) inhibitor cariporide has a cardioprotective effect in various animal models of myocardial ischemiareperfusion. Recent studies have suggested that cariporide interacts with mitochondrial Ca overload and the mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT); however, the precise mechanisms remain unclear. Therefore, we examined whether cariporide affects mitochondrial Ca overload and MPT. Isolated adult rat ventricular myocytes were used to study the effects of cariporide on hypercontracture induced by ouabain or phenylarsine oxide (PAO). Mitochondrial Ca concentration ([Ca ]m) and the mitochondrial membrane potential ( m) were measured by loading myocytes with rhod-2 and JC-1, respectively. We also examined the effect of cariporide on the MPT using tetramethylrhodamine methyl ester (TMRM) and oxidative stress generated by laser illumination. Cariporide (1 M) prevented ouabain-induced hypercontracture (from 40 2 to 24 2%, P 0.05) and significantly attenuated ouabain-induced [Ca ]m overload (from 149 6 to 121 5% of the baseline value, P 0.05) but did not affect m. These results indicate that cariporide attenuates the [Ca ]m overload without the accompanying depolarization of m. Moreover, cariporide increased the time taken to induce the MPT (from 79 11 to 137 20 s, P 0.05) and also attenuated PAO-induced hypercontracture (from 59 3 to 50 4%, P 0.05). Our data indicate that cariporide attenuates [Ca ]m overload and MPT. Thus these effects might potentially contribute to the mechanisms of cardioprotection afforded by NHE inhibitors.