Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Processing Causality in Narrative Events: Temporal Order Matters

To successfully comprehend narrative text, readers often make inferences about different causes and effects that occur in a text. In this study, participants read texts in which events related to a cause were presented before an effect (i.e., the forward causal condition), texts in which an effect was presented before the events related to a cause (i.e., the backward causal condition), or control (i.e., the non-causal) texts. Lexical decision response times to cause-relevant words were faster in the forward causal condition than in the control condition and were faster in the backward causal condition than in the control condition. Importantly, response times were faster in the forward causal condition than in the backward causal condition. These effects were unrelated to individual differences in reading ability. These results suggest that readers process causal relations regardless of temporal order but that causal events presented in backward temporal order may be processed more slowly compared to causal events presented in forward temporal order.
The Influence of the Entrepreneur's Network on the Internationalization of Young French Firms

Young and rapidly internationalizing firms, known as ‘international new ventures’ (INVs) or ‘born globals’ (BGs) have developed their ability to grow rapidly in international markets primarily because the entrepreneur and his or her team have established an international network. Based on six case studies of young technological firms located in the Rhône–Alpes region of France and using a qualitative method, this study focuses on the founders' capabilities in creating and developing an international business network. The results show that entrepreneurs build on their previous professional experience to mobilize international networks during the start-up phase in order to drive the firm's activities.
Making Bank Notes Accessible for Canadians Living with Blindness or Low Vision

•Canadians with barrier-free access to currency is important and is necessary for currency to be most effective as a means of payment. The Bank recognizes the special needs of those who are blind and partially sighted and is committed to working proactively to make bank notes accessible to this growing subset of the population. The development of Canadian bank notes is • based on a continuous process that relies on scientifi c and empirical research, together with direct feedback from bank note user groups and experts. The Bank consults Canadians living with blindness and low vision, as well as their representative organizations and vision experts, to identify the needs of this community and to explore potential solutions. Through research, collaborative partnerships,
Strategic Management of New Products: Ex-Ante Simulation and Market Segmentation

Among various methodologies for demand forecasting of new products, the random-coefficient discrete-choice model using stated preference data is considered to be effective because it reflects heterogeneity in consumer preference and enables the design of experiments in the absence of revealedpreference data. Based on estimates drawn from consumer preference data by structural hierarchical Bayesian logit models, this study develops the overall, strategic, demand-side management for new products by combining market share simulation and a rigorous clustering methodology, the Gaussian mixture model. It then applies the process to the empirical case of electronic payment instruments.
Colon-Patch Oesophagoplasty

Colon-patch oesophagoplasty has been tried experimentally and used clinically to treat benign strictures of the oesophagus in children. However, reports are few. We advocate this operation and report on two cases where this technique was employed for caustic stricture using a vascularized colon patch avoiding the need for oesophageal substitution. This procedure has its immediate and late complications but after a long follow-up we are satisfied with our results. Patching is a useful alternative to substitution for limited benign strictures of oesophagus in children.
Gene expression profiles reveal that chondrogenic progenitor cells and synovial cells are closely related

We showed previously that chondrogenic progenitor cells (CPCs) from the superficial zone of articular cartilage respond vigorously to cartilage wounding by responding chemotactically to cell debris, but the physiologic functions of CPCs remain unclear. To help bridge this knowledge gap we undertook a comparative analysis of gene expression in bovine CPCs, chondrocytes, synovial fibroblasts (synoviocytes), and cells isolated from synovial fluid (SFCs). Analysis of microarrays parsed the four cell types into two distinct groups, one composed only of chondrocytes and the other of CPCs, synoviocytes, and SFCs. The groups differed with respect to metalloendopeptidase, collagen, and cytokine gene expression. Quantitative PCR showed that, relative to chondrocytes, all other cells under‐expressed cartilage matrix genes. CPCs significantly over‐expressed genes encoding the chemokines interleukin 8 (IL8), and C–C motif ligand 2, while synoviocytes over‐expressed the chemokine C–X–C motif Ligand 12. Sulfated glycosaminoglycan deposition in pellet cultures by CPCs was intermediate between chondrocytes and synoviocytes/SFCs. These results indicate that the CPC phenotype more closely resembles synoviocytes and SFCs than chondrocytes. CPCs show a tendency to over‐express chemokines that promote immune cell chemotaxis, suggesting they mediate inflammation in response to cartilage wounding. © 2014 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 32:981–988, 2014.
Memory and Planning Processes in Solutions to Well-Structured Problems

Although many studies in the problem-solving literature have considered the factors that might determine the strategies that are employed to solve well-structured problems, these have typically focused upon variants of means-end analysis. In general, such models imply that strategies unfold in a temporally forward direction, that problem solvers typically restrict forward-planning activities to just one or two moves ahead of the current problem state, and that one important heuristic is the avoidance of previous moves. Although studies have demonstrated the importance of such anti-looping heuristics, few have systematically explored the possibility that problem solvers may also plan retrospectively in order to try and assess whether a move might take them back to a state that they have previously visited. Those models of problem solving that promote the role of an anti-looping heuristic have assumed that the ability to use such a heuristic is based upon memory for previous states, but other interpretations are possible. In this paper several studies are reported that attempt systematically to explore participants’ attempts to recognize previously visited problem solving states. The findings suggest that there is a systematic relationship between the success of this process, the time taken to make this judgement, and distance from the current state. It is also demonstrated that estimations about where future positions are likely to occur are symmetrical to estimations about past positions. It is suggested that this provides evidence that problem solvers engage in retrospective planning processes in order to try and avoid previous moves, and that this strategy may not be based straightforwardly upon their ability to remember previous problem states.
Endogenous Bank Runs

Models of banking panics have the unsatisfactory property that banks can not reduce the probability of facing runs by holding more liquid assets. This is inconsistent with empirical evidence that suggests that the probability is endogenously determined and negatively related to the liquidity of bank balance sheets. I develop a model consistent with the evidence. There are important empirical implications. Liquidity should be measured by the liquidation value of total assets as a fraction of short term liabilities. Econometric results are obtained for the Argentine panic of 1995. Three government policies are analyzed. First, under a scheme of partial deposit insurance, the probability of panics is increasing in the level of coverage. Second, the government can reduce the probability of panics and increase depositor’s welfare for a constant expenditure by imposing liquidity requirements. Third, a more capital intensive …nancial structure reduces the probability of runs. Capital requirements reduce the probability of panics and the government expenditure when a panic episode occurs.
Total Hip Arthroplasty with Cement in Patients Who Have Rheumatoid Arthritis. A Minimum Ten-Year Follow-up Study*

One hundred and six consecutive total hip arthroplasties with cement were performed by one surgeon, at least ten years before the time of the present clinical and radiographic review, in seventy-five patients who had adult-onset rheumatoid arthritis. Two patients (three hips) were lost to follow-up. Seven (7 per cent) of the remaining 103 hips were revised. The revisions were performed because of infection (three hips), dislocation (two hips), or aseptic loosening (two hips). Of the ninety-eight hips that were not lost to follow-up or revised because of infection or dislocation, eight (8 per cent) had radiographic loosening of the acetabular component and two (2 per cent) had radiographic loosening of the femoral component. Although the prevalence of radiographic loosening of the acetabular component was four times greater than the prevalence of radiographic loosening of the femoral component, the prevalence of revision because of aseptic loosening of the acetabular component was identical to that for the femoral component (one component each). These results compared favorably with those of total hip arthroplasty with cement, performed by the same surgeon, for the treatment of other diagnoses. Loosening of the acetabular component was significantly associated with a younger age at the time of the index operation (p = 0.03) and with acetabular osteolysis (p = 0.0006). Of forty-eight hips in thirty-two patients who survived for at least ten years, 96 per cent (forty-six hips) were considered by the patients to have a satisfactory result. At the time of the latest follow-up, twenty-four (75 per cent) of the patients had no pain in the hip. Although eighteen patients (56 per cent) could walk without support at a minimum of ten years after the operation, we found that the functional results for patients who had rheumatoid arthritis were inferior to those observed for patients who had had a total hip arthroplasty with cement, performed by the same surgeon, for the treatment of other diagnoses.
Green marketing strategy and the firm's performance: the moderating role of environmental culture

Following the natural-resource-based view of the company, this study analyses how green marketing strategy influences different dimensions of organizational performance. In this task, it also studies how the integration of the environmental values within the firm's internal culture determines the effect of green strategies on performance. To meet these aims, the present research collects data from 361 manufacturing firms of a European country. Structural equation modelling with EQS software was the method applied to analyse the information. The findings indicate that green marketing strategy led firms to improve their profitability by optimizing marketing performance and reducing costs. However, dimensions of organizational results, like process performance, are not positively related to economic success. They also reveal that environmentally oriented firms are more likely to achieve a superior operational and marketing performance from environmental practices.
Executive Compensation and Corporate Governance in the U.S.: Perceptions, Facts and Challenges

In this paper, I consider the evidence for three common perceptions of U.S. public company CEO pay and corporate governance: (1) CEOs are overpaid and their pay keeps increasing; (2) CEOs are not paid for their performance; and (3) boards do not penalize CEOs for poor performance. While average CEO pay increased substantially through the 1990s, it has declined since then. CEO pay levels relative to other highly paid groups today are comparable to their average levels in the early 1990s although they remain above their long-term historical average. The ratio of large-company CEO pay to firm market value is roughly similar to its level in the late-1970s and lower than its pre-1960s levels. These patterns suggest that similar forces, likely technology and scale, have played a meaningful role in driving CEO pay and the pay of others with top incomes. With regard to performance, CEOs are paid for performance and penalized for poor performance. Finally, boards do monitor CEOs. The rate of CEO turnover has increased in the 2000s compared to the 1980s and 1990s, and is significantly tied to poor stock performance. While corporate governance failures and pay outliers as well as the very high average pay levels relative to the typical household undoubtedly have contributed to the common perceptions, a meaningful part of CEO pay appears to be market determined and boards do appear to monitor their CEOs. Consistent with that, top executive pay policies at over 98% of S&P 500 and Russell 3000 companies received majority shareholder support in the Dodd-Frank mandated Say-On-Pay votes in 2011.
Understanding sustainable supply network capabilities of multinationals: A capability maturity model approach

The design of global supply networks has evolved from traditional lowest landed cost analysis to include more strategic concepts such as how particular network configurations might support strategic and operational capabilities. An established approach to assessing operational capabilities is the maturity model methodology where the emphasis is on notions of evolution and levels of process formality. More recently, there has been a growing emphasis on sustainable supply networks, driving industrial practitioners to also address energy and resource efficiencies and waste minimisation. However, quantitative measurement approaches such as carbon footprinting beyond the firm boundary are complex and resource intensive and present significant validation challenges. This article proposes a process maturity model-based alternative to supply network carbon measurement approaches, namely, the systematic review of organisational routines and practices relevant to sustainable manufacturing. Furthermore, the incorporation of sustainability dimensions within an established supply chain maturity model architecture provides a basis for potential trade-offs. Application of the maturity model framework in 12 case studies of international manufacturing multinationals is presented, demonstrating feasibility and utility of the approach and identifying potential drivers for manufacturing sustainability linked to the industrial supply network position, including the regulatory context, and consumer sentiment.
Cloning and expression of a high-molecular-mass major antigen of Helicobacter pylori: evidence of linkage to cytotoxin production

A high-molecular-mass (120- to 128-kDa) Helicobacter pylori antigen has been associated with peptic ulcer disease. We created a bank of 40,000 random chromosomal fragments of H. pylori 84-183 by using lambda ZapII. Screening of this bank in Escherichia coli XL1-Blue with absorbed serum from an H. pylori-infected person permitted the isolation and purification of a clone with a 3.5-kb insert. Subcloning of this insert (pMC3) permitted the expression of a recombinant H. pylori protein that had a mass of approximately 96 kDa and that was recognized by the human serum. Sera that were obtained from H. pylori-infected persons and that recognized the native 120- to 128-kDa H. pylori antigen recognized the recombinant 96-kDa pMC3 protein to a significantly greater extent than did sera that did not recognize the native H. pylori antigen. All 19 H. pylori isolates producing the 120- to 128-kDa antigen hybridized with pMC3; none of 13 nonproducers did so (P < 0.001). Because all 15 isolates producing the vacuolating cytotoxin hybridized with pMC3, we called the gene cagA (cytotoxin-associated gene). Sequence analysis of pMC3 identified an open reading frame of 859 amino acids, without a termination codon. Parallel screening of a lambda gt11 library with human serum revealed positive plaques with identical 0.6-kb inserts and sequences matching the sequence of the downstream region of pMC3. To clone the full-length gene, we used the 0.6-kb fragment as a probe and isolated a clone with a 2.7-kb insert from the lambda ZapII genomic library. Nucleotide sequencing of this insert (pYB 2) revealed a 785-bp sequence that overlapped the downstream region of pMC3. Translation of the complete nucleotide sequence of cagA revealed an open reading frame of 1,181 amino acids yielding a protein of 131,517 daltons. There was no significant homology with any previously reported protein sequence. These findings indicate the cloning and characterization of a high-molecular-mass H. pylori antigen potentially associated with virulence and with cytotoxin production.
Aurora B Kinase Expression in Ependymal Neoplasms

Overexpression of Aurora B kinase, which regulates cell progression through mitosis and cytokinesis, has been shown to be associated with higher-grade tumors and shortened survival in astrocytomas. Aurora B expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry in 32 ependymomas, 10 anaplastic ependymomas, 16 myxopapillary ependymomas, and 9 subependymomas. Aurora B expression was identified in 20 (62.5%) ependymomas, 5 (50%) anaplastic ependymomas, 1 (6.3%) myxopapillary ependymoma, and no subependymomas. The association between Aurora B expression and World Health Organization grade II/III tumors was statistically significant (P<0.0001). There was no difference in the level of Aurora B expression between ependymomas and anaplastic ependymomas. Aurora B expression was not associated with patient age, sex, tumor location, tumor recurrence, or death from tumor. In contrast to astrocytomas, elevated Aurora B expression in higher-grade ependymomas does not seem to correlate with clinical course, although it may be a potential target of Aurora kinase inhibitors.
Are Regime Shift Risks Priced in Asset Markets?

In this paper we introduce a discrete time pricing model for a European call option when the log-return of the underlying stock (asset) is subject to discontinuous market regime type of shifts in its mean or volatility whose risk can be priced in the market. The paper shows how to estimate this model and then it uses it to examine if regime shift sources of risk are priced in option markets. The results of the paper clearly indicate that stock market regime shifts constitute significant sources of risk which are priced in option markets. Ignoring these sources of risks will lead to significant option pricing errors.
High efficiency charge pump circuit for negative high voltage generation at 2 V supply voltage

A charge pump circuit has been developed for the generation of negative high voltage at supply voltage levels down to 2V. The generated high voltage is suitable for programming Flash EEPROM cells, that use Fowler-Nordheim tunneling. The key issue of the circuit design has been high efficiency and small chip area. The circuit consists of n-MOS transfer gates in a triple-well structure and is driven by a four phase clocking scheme. The power efficiency of a charge pump, designed for low power applications, is better than 25% at an output power of 100µW, including clock generation and voltage regulation.
A Surface-Field-Based Model for Nanowire MOSFETs With Spatial Variations of Doping Profiles

We report a novel method to solve the nonlinear 1-D Poisson's equation for the gate-all-around (GAA) nanowire MOSFETs with nonuniform doping profiles. An algebraic relation between the electric field and potential is identified to develop a surface-field-based compact model. Drain current is derived from the oxide-interface boundary condition to avoid the complicated surface-potential approach. As verified by the TCAD simulations, this analytic model is capable of continuously covering all operating regions of GAA nanowire MOSFETs with slowly varying doping profiles.
WELL-BEING OF ENTREPRENEURS - INTERNATIONAL COMPARISON BASED ON GEM DATA

Purpose: Entrepreneurs start up their businesses for a variety of reasons. Among those are selffulfillment and expected increase in quality of life. The paper aims at measuring the difference of well-being of entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs in cross-country analysis. Also presented are results for entrepreneurs at various stages of activity, opportunity entrepreneurs and necessity ones and female and male entrepreneurs. Methodology/approach: Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) data is used to test the hypotheses. In 2013 there was a special topic in GEM concerning well-being and quality of life. The sample of 70 countries taking part in GEM is used. To test the hypotheses the dependent samples t-test is used. Findings: Research results show that well-being of entrepreneurs is higher than of non-entrepreneurs, well-being of owners of established businesses is higher than of early-stage entrepreneurs, well-being of opportunity entrepreneurs is higher than of necessity entrepreneurs and that there is no statistically significant difference between well-being of female and male entrepreneurs. Implications/limitations: The study has implications for quality of life research by indicating some of the factors that infl uence the well-being of people involved in business activity. The limitation of the study is using country as the level of analysis instead of using data at individual level that was not available at the time of conducting the research. Originality/value: Some of the relationships presented in the paper have not been researched yet. The main value of the paper is taking the next step in uncovering the patters of well-being of entrepreneurs.
How can an assortment be reduced without changing the perception of variety? A study of the isolated effects of assortment breadth and depth

This research, conducted in collaboration with Carrefour and In Vivo, studies consumers’ perception of variety with a view to reducing the assortment. We deploy two intrinsic assortment characteristics: breadth and depth. We questioned 1009 consumers in test stores and we highlight the mediating role of the perception of variety and how retailers might reduce their assortments without affecting consumers’ perception of variety.
Error correction of the underwater inertial navigation system using movable surface acoustic reference stations

This paper presents an integrated underwater navigational algorithm for autonomous underwater vehicles using two movable surface acoustic reference stations which can transmit data packet to the AUV via acoustic modem with synchronous timer. This paper proposes a measurement model with the two range measurements that can improve the performance of an IMU-DVL (inertial measurement unit — Doppler velocity log) navigation system for long-time operation of the AUVs. Extended Kalman filter was adopted to propagate the error covariance, to update the measurement errors and to correct the state equation when the external measurements are available. Simulation was conducted with the 6-d.o. f. nonlinear numerical model of an AUV in lawn-mowing survey mode at current flow, where the velocity information is unavailable. Simulations illustrate the effectiveness of the navigation system assisted by the range measurements from two movable surface acoustic references.