Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Impact of IFRS Goodwill Reporting on Financial Analysts' Equity Valuation Judgements: Some Experimental Evidence

type="main" xml:id="acfi12189-abs-0001"> This article uses an experiment to investigate how professional financial analysts evaluate a corporate acquisition announced by an IFRS preparer. The findings suggest that professional analysts are affected by preparers' acquisition premium allocations in a potentially misleading way as the participants considered the acquisition to be value-enhancing when the premium was allocated to goodwill, but value-reducing when allocated to identifiable intangible assets. These effects were mitigated at the aggregate level when additional discounted cash flow analysis information was provided; however, there were significant differences in information search behaviour as quite many participants focused primarily on the exploitation of earnings information.
Active or passive treatment for neck-shoulder pain in occupational health care? A randomized controlled trial.

AIMS To compare the effectiveness of thoracic manipulations with instructions for physiotherapeutic exercises for the treatment of neck pain in occupational health care. METHODS Seventy-five subjects aged 30-55 years from a random sample of 241 employees of the Finnish Broadcasting Company were randomly allocated to treatment in the form of four thoracic manipulations (n = 43), or instructions for physiotherapeutic exercises (n = 32). The subjects reported neck-shoulder pain on a structured pain questionnaire using a visual analogue scale (VAS, 0-10). Muscle tenderness and tender thoracic levels were evaluated by a blinded investigator (A.S.) at 6- and 12 month follow-ups. RESULTS A statistically significant difference was found in self-reported worst pain by VAS at the 12 month follow-up in favour of the thoracic manipulation group. CONCLUSIONS The natural course of the neck-shoulder pain in this study appears benign; pain was also reduced in the drop-out group. Both treatments were found effective at the 12 month follow-up. The effect of four manipulations was more favourable than the personal exercise program in treating the more intense phase of pain.
Threshold-Based Forward Guidance: Hedging the Zero Bound

"Threshold-based forward guidance" (TBFG) is a state-contingent commitment to hold the policy rate at the zero lower bound until macroeconomic variables breach particular "thresholds". Though such guidance has been implemented in practice, little is known about how this policy works in theory. This paper fills that gap by studying threshold-based guidance as a tool to improve outcomes at the zero bound within a general equilibrium framework. Policymakers have rarely advocated using TBFG to provide stimulus, in part reflecting skepticism about their ability to commit credibly to time inconsistent behavior. We show that TBFG can be used to provide temporary stimulus, while also limiting the time inconsistency of policy promises. We also show that existence of a unique equilibrium requires the policymaker to specify how the thresholds should be interpreted, as well as their values. The optimal design of the threshold conditions depends on the relative importance of those shocks that induce a trade-off between stabilizing output and inflation and those that do not. With an appropriate choice of thresholds, TBFG outperforms forward guidance based purely on calendar time and comes close to mimicking outcomes under optimal commitment policy.
Improved Timing of Availability and Administration of Influenza Vaccine Through the US Vaccines for Children Program From 2007 to 2011

The Vaccines for Children (VFC) program distributes one half of all vaccines administered to US children. Compared with commercial vaccine distribution, VFC distribution is more complex. This prospective observational study compares the delivery and administration of VFC versus non-VFC influenza vaccine in US pediatricians’ offices across 3 influenza seasons and its apparent impact on 2-dose compliance rates. Because of earlier shipping (mean = 29-42 days) of non-VFC vaccines, administration of VFC vaccines was delayed relative to non-VFC vaccines by approximately 1 month in 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 and 2 weeks in 2010-2011. Two-dose compliance rates for the VFC and non-VFC populations were 38.5% and 47.5% (P < .001) in 2007-2008, 45.9% and 55.1% (P < .001) in 2008-2009, and 50.0% and 52.9% (P < .001) in 2010-2011, respectively. Despite delays, earlier VFC shipment in 2010-2011 enabled greater equity in 2-dose compliance.
Subdoses of Dicamba Herbicide on Yield Componentes in Function of the Soybean Growth Stage

Soybean cultivars without tolerance can suffer injury from exposure to tank herbicide residues. This study aimed at assessing the potential effects of the broad spectrum herbicide dicamba on sensitive soybean during its vegetative and reproductive stages. The trial was performed in a randomized complete block design with four replications. Six rates (1.4, 2.8, 5.6, 11.2, 16.8 and 28.0 g ae ha-1) of dicamba were applied at two soybean growth stages (V3 and R2). The soybeans were planted in Passo Fundo, Rio Grande do Sul state in 2015/16 agricultural year. The dicamba induced symptoms of soybean phytotoxicity showed a steady rise at all the assessment times. The soybean decreased in height as the subdose of the herbicide increased. Dicamba was observed to negatively affect the number of nodes alone, during the V3 and R2 stages. The grain yield was adversely affected at the 28.0 g ae ha-1 subdose, in the V3 application stage, and in response to the 16.8 and 28.0 g ae ha-1 subdoses in the R2 stage.
Determinations of the DNA sequence of the mreB gene and of the gene products of the mre region that function in formation of the rod shape of Escherichia coli cells

The 6.5-kilobase mre region at 71 min in the Escherichia coli chromosome map, where genes involved in formation of a rod-shaped cell form a gene cluster, was analyzed by in vivo protein synthesis in a maxicell system and by base sequencing of DNA. An open reading frame that may code for a protein with an Mr of about 37,000 on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels was found and was correlated with the mreB gene. N-terminal amino acid sequencing of the hybrid mreB-lacZ protein confirmed the production by mreB of a protein of 347 amino acid residues with a molecular weight of 36,958. The amino acid sequence of this protein deduced from the DNA sequence showed close similarity with that of a protein of the ftsA gene which is involved in cell division of E. coli. Three other contiguous genes that formed three proteins with Mrs of about 40,000, 22,000, and 51,000, respectively, were detected downstream of the mreB gene by in vivo protein synthesis. The mreB protein and some of these three proteins may function together in determination of cell shape.
Hedge Fund Performance Evaluation: A Stochastic Discount Factor Approach

We analyze hedge fund performance using the stochastic discount factor (SDF) approach and imposing the arbitrage-free requirement to correctly value the derivatives and dynamic trading strategies used by hedge funds. Using SDFs of many asset-pricing models, we evaluate hedge fund portfolios based on style and characteristics. Without the arbitrage-free requirement, pricing errors are relatively small and a few models can explain hedge fund returns. With this requirement, pricing errors are much bigger, and all models fail to price style and volatility portfolios. Fund manager characteristics like age, experience, and education explain some of the mispricing of our best risk model.
Trends in agility for rapid product development and manufacturing – a review

With the rapid changes taking place in the global market, it has become clear that enterprises working on rapid manufacturing need to integrate Agile Manufacturing (AM) concept with their systems. Rapid Prototyping (RP), tooling and manufacture have come to stay as enablers of agility. Another emerging manufacturing philosophy is Mass Customisation, which is expected to become a market leader in manufacturing in the 21st century. To design efficient production systems and factories operating in these manufacturing paradigms, new design approaches need to be developed. This paper reviews some of the important research work done on RP, Rapid Manufacturing (RM) and AM, to show how RP/RM has been used successfully for implementing agility in a number of research fields.
Assessment of Binary Coding Techniques for Texture Characterization in Remote Sensing Imagery

This letter investigates the use of rotation invariant descriptors based on Local Binary Patterns (LBP) and Local Phase Quantization (LPQ) for texture characterization in the context of land-cover and land-use classification of Remote Sensing (RS) optical image data. Very high resolution images from the IKONOS-2 and Quickbird-2 orbital sensor systems covering different urban study areas were subjected to classification through an object-based approach. The experiments showed that the discrimination capacity of LBP and LPQ descriptors substantially increased when combined with contrast information. This work also proposes a novel texture descriptors assembled through the concatenation of the histograms of either LBP or LPQ descriptors and of the local variance estimates. Experimental analysis demonstrated that the proposed descriptors, though more compact, preserved the discrimination capacity of bi-dimensional histograms representing the joint distribution of textural descriptors and contrast information. Finally, the paper compares the discrimination capacity of the LBP- and LPQ-based textural descriptors with that of features derived from the Gray Level Co-occurrence Matrices (GLCM). The related experiments revealed a noteworthy superiority of LBP and LPQ descriptors over the GLCM features in the context of RS image data classification.
An Evaluation of Information on the Internet of a New Device: The Lumbar Artificial Disc Replacement

Study Design An analysis of websites, accessible to the public, was conducted pertaining to the lumbar artificial disc replacement. Objective The objective was to investigate the content of information available on the Internet pertaining to the lumbar artificial disc replacement. Summary of Background Data The Internet is widely used by patients as an educational tool for health care information. Additionally, the Internet is used as a medium for direct-to-consumer marketing. Recent approval of the lumbar artificial disc replacement has led to the emergence of numerous websites offering information about this procedure. It is thought that patients can be influenced by information found on the Internet; therefore, it is imperative that this information be accurate and as complete as possible. Methods Three commonly used search engines were used to locate 105 (35/search engine) websites providing information about the lumbar artificial disc replacement. Each website was evaluated with regard to authorship and content. Results Fifty-nine percent of the websites reviewed were authorized by a private physician group, 9% by an academic physician group, 6% by industry, 11% were news reports, and 15% were not otherwise categorized. Seventy-two percent offered a mechanism for direct contact and 30% provided clear patient selection criteria. Benefits were expressed in 87% of websites, whereas associated risks were described in 28% or less. European experiences were noted in 53%, whereas only 22% of websites detailed the current US experience. Conclusions The results of this study demonstrate that much of the content of Internet-derived information pertaining to the lumbar artificial disc replacement is potentially misleading. Until long-term data are available, patients should be cautioned when using the Internet as a source for health care information, particularly with regard to the lumbar artificial disc replacement.
The vestibular control of balance after stroke

Objectives: To examine vestibular control of balance in those who recovered the ability to stand after middle cerebral artery (MCA) stroke. Methods: Sixteen patients with MCA stroke were compared with 10 age matched controls. Two additional patients were studied with isolated corticospinal tract lesions, one each at the level of the pons and medulla. Vestibular evoked postural responses were obtained using galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) while patients stood with their eyes closed and head facing forwards, equally loading both legs. The GVS response was characterised by measuring the amplitude of the stimulus evoked lateral forces acting through each leg and the lateral displacement of the axial skeleton. Results: Lateral displacement and net lateral force following GVS were significantly larger after stroke. Unlike controls, the lateral forces in the stroke group were asymmetrical, being enhanced on the side of the non-paretic limb and small on the side of the paretic limb. The degree of GVS evoked asymmetry correlated with corticospinal damage assessed using transcranial magnetic stimulation. A similar asymmetrical response was seen in the patient with the pontine lesion but not the patient with the medullary lesion. Conclusions: MCA stroke may disrupt corticobulbar projections to brainstem output pathways involved in vestibular control of balance. These projections are either collaterals of the corticospinal tract or lie close to that tract and terminate in the pons/upper medulla. This hypothesis accounts for the association between corticospinal tract damage and GVS response asymmetry, and the lack of GVS evoked asymmetry with corticospinal lesions below the rostral medulla.
Follow-up of patients with thyroglobulin-antibodies: Rising Tg-Ab trend is a risk factor for recurrence of differentiated thyroid cancer

ABSTRACT Purpose: Differentiated thyroid cancer is the most common endocrine malignancy. Recurrences (5–20%) are the main reason for follow-up. Thyroglobulin (Tg) has proven to be an excellent disease marker, but thyroglobulin-antibodies (Tg-Ab) may interfere with Tg measurement, leading to over or underestimation. It is proposed that the Tg-Ab trend can be used as a marker for disease recurrence, yet few studies define trend and have a long-term follow-up. The objective of our study was to investigate the value of a well-defined Tg-Ab trend as a surrogate marker for disease recurrence during long-term follow-up. Methods: We retrospectively studied patients treated at the Nuclear Department of the University Medical Center Utrecht from 1998 to 2010 and the Netherlands Cancer Institute from 2000 to 2009. All patients with Tg-Ab 12 months after treatment were included. The definition of a rise was >50% increase of the Tg-Ab value in a 2 year time period. A decline as >50% decrease of the Tg-Ab value. Results: Twenty-five patients were included. None of the patients with declining or stable Tg-Ab without a concomitant rise in Tg developed a recurrence. Four patients did suffer a recurrence. Three of these patients had a rising Tg-Ab trend, in two of these patients Tg was undetectable. Conclusions: Tg-Ab trend can be used as a crude surrogate marker for long-term follow-up of Tg-Ab patients. A rising trend in Tg-Ab warrants further investigation to detect recurrent disease. Stable or declining Tg-Ab levels do not seem to reflect a risk for recurrence.
Microfabricated inductors for 20 MHz Dc-Dc converters

This paper presents the design and measured results for micro-fabricated inductors suitable for use in high frequency (> 10 MHz), low power (1 -2 W) dc-dc converters. The design has focused on maximizing inductor efficiency for a given converter specification. Inductors in the range of 100 nH to 300 nH have been fabricated and tested. The small signal measurements show a relatively flat inductance profile, with a 10% drop in inductance at 30 MHz. Inductance vs. dc bias current measurements show less than 15% decrease in inductance at 500 mA current. The performance of the micro-inductors have also been compared to a conventional wire-wound inductor in a 20 MHz dc-dc converter. The converter efficiency is shown to be approximately 4% lower when the micro-inductor is used compared to the when the wire- wound inductor is used. The peak efficiency of the micro-inductor in the converter is estimated to be approximately 93%.
The Death of Diversification Has Been GreatlyExaggerated

Diversification is famously referred to as the only “free lunch” in investing, but it has been under assault since the 2007–2009 global financial crisis, when virtually all longonly asset classes moved down together. Ilmanen and Kizer argue that the attacks are undeserved. Most investors were never as diversified as they thought they were, and there is ample room for improvement by shifting the focus from asset class diversification to factor diversification. They show that diversification into and across factors has been much more effective in reducing portfolio volatility and market directionality than asset class diversification. The benefits are greatest for long–short investing, which requires shorting and leverage but are also meaningful in a long-only context.
Deletion of podocyte STAT3 mitigates the entire spectrum of HIV-1-associated nephropathy

Objective:HIV-1 gene expression in kidney epithelial cells is thought to be responsible for the pathogenesis of HIV-1-associated nephropathy (HIVAN). Signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) 3 signaling is activated in podocytes of patients with HIVAN and drives the dedifferentiation and proliferation of podocytes in culture. We confirm here that deletion of podocyte STAT3 is sufficient to mitigate the glomerular as well as tubulointerstitial findings of HIVAN. Methods:To demonstrate the functional role of podocyte STAT3 in the pathogenesis of HIVAN we compared the development of HIVAN in Tg26 HIV-transgenic mice with and without deletion of STAT3 in the podocyte. Results:Tg26 mice with podocyte-specific STAT3 deletion developed significantly less weight loss, albuminuria, and renal function impairment compared to Tg26 mice without STAT3 deletion. Tg26 mice with podocyte STAT3 deletion also had significantly less glomerular collapse, sclerosis, epithelial cell hyperplasia, podocyte dedifferentiation, and proinflammatory STAT3 target gene expression; and tubulointerstitial changes of HIVAN, including tubular atrophy, degeneration, apoptosis, and lymphocyte infiltration, were also significantly reduced compared to Tg26 mice without STAT3 deletion. Conclusion:Development of glomerular as well as tubulointerstitial injuries in the Tg26 HIVAN model is dependent on podocyte STAT3 expression. Inhibition of STAT3 could be a potential adjunctive therapy for the treatment of HIVAN.
Postoperative Pain After Abdominal Hysterectomy: A Double-Blind Comparison Between Placebo and Local Anesthetic Infused Intraperitoneally

Abdominal hysterectomy is associated with moderate to severe postoperative pain. We randomly divided 40 patients (ASA status I–II) undergoing elective abdominal hysterectomy into 2 groups: group P received an infusion of normal saline 5 mL/h via a catheter placed intraperitoneally at the end of surgery, and group L received 0.25% levobupivacaine 12.5 mg/h (5 mL/h). Ketobemidone was administered IV via a patient-controlled analgesia pump as a rescue analgesic in all patients. The catheter was removed after 24 h. Incisional pain, deep pain, and pain on coughing were assessed 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 16, and 24 h after surgery by using a visual analog scale. Ketobemidone consumption during 0–72 h was recorded. Time to sit, walk, eat, and drink; home discharge; and plasma concentrations of levobupivacaine were also determined. Pain at the incision site, deep pain, and pain on coughing were all significantly less in group L compared with group P at 1–2 h after surgery. After 4 h, the mean visual analog scale pain scores at rest and during coughing remained <3 cm during most time periods. Total ketobemidone consumption during 4–24 h was significantly less in group L compared with group P (mean, 19 versus 31 mg, respectively). A less frequent incidence of postoperative nausea, but not vomiting, was also found during 4–24 h in group L compared with group P (P < 0.025). Total and free plasma concentrations of levobupivacaine were small. We conclude that levobupivacaine used as an infusion intraperitoneally after elective abdominal hysterectomy has significant opioid-sparing effects.
Comorbidities and health-related quality of life in Koreans with knee osteoarthritis: Data from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES)

Objectives This study aimed to evaluate the association of knee osteoarthritis (OA) with comorbidities and health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Methods A total of 8,907 (weighted n = 13,687,058) participants aged ≥50 years who had undergone knee radiography were selected from the 2010–2012 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. OA was classified into four subgroups based on the presence or absence of pain and radiographic OA (ROA): non-OA (Pain-/ROA-), pain only (Pain+/ROA-), ROA only (Pain-/ROA+), and painful ROA (Pain+/ROA+). ROA was defined as Kellgren–Lawrence grade ≥ 2. HRQOL measurements including EuroQOL visual analogue scale (EQ-VAS) scores and the five dimensions and summary index of the EuroQOL-5 dimension (EQ-5D index) were also analyzed. Multivariable logistic regression and linear regression analyses were performed. Results After adjustment for socioeconomic and lifestyle characteristics, cardiovascular disease, malignancy, and other comorbidities were not significantly associated with OA. Pain only and painful ROA were each significantly associated with limitations in physical activity (odds ratio (OR) 2.66, 95% CI 2.07–3.44, p < 0.001 and OR 2.83, 95% CI 2.25–3.58, p < 0.001, respectively), lower EQ-VAS (β-coefficient = -10.95, p < 0.001 and β-coefficient = -9.75, p < 0.001, respectively), and EQ-5D index (β-coefficient = -0.10, p < 0.001 and β-coefficient = -0.13, p < 0.001) compared with the non-OA group, whereas ROA only was not associated with limitations in physical activity or lower HRQOL score. Conclusions Comorbidities were not significantly associated with knee OA after adjustment. Knee OA was associated with physical activity and HRQOL. Painful knee OA, with or without ROA, was more strongly associated with decreased physical activity and lower quality of life than ROA without pain.
A Novel Clinically Relevant Animal Model for Studying Galectin-3 and Its Ligands During Colon Carcinogenesis

Galectin-3 (Gal-3) is a multifunctional protein that plays different roles in cancer biology. To better understand the role of Gal-3 and its ligands during colon carcino-genesis, we studied its expression in tumors induced in rats treated with 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH) and in human tissues. Normal colon from untreated rats showed no staining using two specific monoclonal antibodies. In contrast, morphologically normal colon from DMH-treated rats and dysplastic aberrant crypt foci were strongly stained, indicating that increased Gal-3 expression is an early event during the neoplastic transformation in colon cells. Gal-3 was weakly expressed in adenocarcinomas. Overall, the Gal-3 expression pattern observed in the DMH rat model closely resembles that displayed by human colon stained with the same antibodies. We also found that Gal-3 phosphorylation diminishes in serines while increasing in tyrosines during rat colon carcinogenesis. Finally, we showed that Gal-3–ligands expression is strikingly similar in rat and human malignant colon and in non-malignant tissues. In conclusion, the DMH-induced rat colon cancer model displays expression patterns of Gal-3 and its ligands very similar to those observed in human samples. This animal model should contribute to clarifying the role of Gal-3 in colon carcinogenesis and also to finding effective preventive cancer agents based on Gal-3 targeting.