Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Analyst Impartiality and Investment Banking Relationships

This study examines whether investment banking ties influence the speed with which analysts convey unfavorable news. We hypothesize that affiliated analysts have incentives to respond promptly to good news but prefer not to issue bad news about client companies. Using duration models of the time between an equity issue and the first downgrade, we find affiliated analysts are slower to downgrade from "Buy" and "Hold" recommendations and significantly faster to upgrade from "Hold," in both within-analyst and within-issuer tests. We also find affiliated analysts issue recommendations sooner and more frequently after an offering than unaffiliated analysts, and that unaffiliated analysts are more likely than affiliated analysts to drop coverage of sample firms. Our findings indicate that banking ties increase analysts' reluctance to reveal negative news, and that reform efforts must carefully consider the incentives of affiliated and unaffiliated analysts to initiate coverage and convey the results of their research.
Tumorigenesis and Neoplastic Progression Plexin-B 1 and Semaphorin 4 D Cooperate to Promote Perineural Invasion in a RhoA / ROK-Dependent Manner

From the Department of Oncology and Diagnostic Sciences,* University of Maryland Dental School, Baltimore, Maryland; the Department of Oral, Basic, and Clinical Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; the Department of Sports Science, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy; the Department of Diagnostic and Surgical Sciences, University of California at Los Angeles, School of Dentistry, Los Angeles, California; the Health Science Program, the Department of Dentistry, and the Health Science Program,! the Department of Medicine, State University of Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, Brazil; the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, Boston University Goldman School of Dental Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts; and the Marlene and Stuart Greenebaum Cancer Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Price‐end biases in financial products

Purpose – The paper seeks to show that marketing and psychology literature can shed light on why investors exhibit preferences for certain price ends. The perspective adopted is that the stock market is a marketplace in which investors, as consumers, buy and sell (i.e. exchange) financial products such as stocks.Design/methodology/approach – The paper analyzes trading data from the stock exchanges to empirically test propositions about investor behavior vis‐a‐vis certain price ends of interest derived from the marketing and psychology literature.Findings – Investors, as consumers, favor price‐ends of 0 and 5 more than price‐ends of 9, in that they trade more frequently and more aggressively at these price ends. Further, even price ends of 0 are favored more than odd price ends of 5.Practical implications – The results of the study shed light on how the cognitive bias of the consumer thwarts the otherwise efficient functioning of the financial market.Originality/value – The paper uses market‐level data to .
Firm Strategy and Age Dependence: A Contingent View of the Liabilities of Newness, Adolescence, and Obsolescence

Unlike prior research on organizational age dependence, which has described entire populations as exhibiting a liability of newness, adolescence, or obsolescence, this study adopts a contingent view by considering the interactive effects of age and technology strategy. Distinctions are drawn between proprietary strategists, who use internally developed, firm-specific technologies, and standards-based strategists, whose technologies conform with open and publicly available specifications. Results of a study of the firms in the U.S. personal computer industry show that technology strategy had two important influences on aging. First, age dependence varied across strategies. For example, standards-based strategists exhibited a liability of adolescence in their failure rates, while proprietary strategists exhibited a liability of obsolescence. Second, the joint effects of age and strategy produced long-term trade-offs across different performance outcomes. For instance, rates of sales growth increased with age for proprietary strategists, yet so did their risks of failure. Overall, this study suggests that multiple patterns of age dependence may simultaneously exist within a single population.
Toward Effective Big Data Analysis in Continuous Auditing

SYNOPSIS: Big Data now pervades every sector and function of the global economy. This paper focuses on the gaps between Big Data and the current capabilities of data analysis in continuous auditing (CA). It identifies four dimensions of Big Data and five subsequent gaps: namely, data consistency, integrity, aggregation, identification, and confidentiality. For each gap, the paper outlines challenges and possible solutions derived from traditional data systems, which can be further applied to CA systems in an era of Big Data.
A UHF-band digital pre-distortion power amplifier using weight divided adaptive algorithm

A look up table (LUT) type adaptive digital pre-distortion (ADPD) using a weight divided adaptive algorithm is presented. In this algorithm, an output signal of the power amplifier (PA) is used as a reference signal. Additionally, reference signal is divided by the coefficient of the LUT, so that the characteristics of the PA, such as temperature dependence, do not have influence on the convergence performances. The proposed algorithm is presented and the convergence condition is derived analytically. From the ADPD simulation, we present that the proposed algorithm is more stable than the conventional normalized least mean square (NLMS) algorithm. The developed UHF-band ADPD power amplifier achieved the intermodulation (IM) distortion of -50dBc and the PA efficiency of 18% at output power of 54.8dBm under an integrated services digital broadcasting for terrestrial television broadcasting (ISDB-T) OFDM signal.
An efficient design technique of a quantum divider circuit

This paper presents a new technique for designing a compact and an efficient quantum divider circuit. A backtracking technique has been incorporated to reduce the depth of the proposed design. In addition, we propose a new quantum full-subtractor circuit and a quantum ANDing circuit to perform the AND operation of the quantum bits. The proposed quantum divider circuit requires a linear depth, whereas the depth of the design of the best known existing quantum divider circuit is exponential. The comparative study shows that the proposed quantum divider improves 67.51% in terms of quantum gates, area, power and 53.33% in terms of constant inputs and 36.36% in terms of garbage outputs over the best known existing quantum divider when the dividend is a 64-qubit.
A Family of Almost Ideal Log-change Index Numbers

This paper describes a family of log-change indexes that nearly or exactly satisfy the strong factor-reversal test and that can also converge to the Vartia Indexes. Our family of log-change indexes includes the Tornqvist Index and the Walsh Index. Over the past few decades, the Vartia Indexes and the Tornqvist Index have become popular in theory and practice. Nevertheless, we have only limited information on the links between the Vartia Indexes and other log-change indexes. Our family of log-change indexes explains these links. JEL Classification Numbers: C43
Putting theory into practice – A case study in one UK medical school of the nature and extent of unprofessional behaviour over a 6-year period

Background: Producing a medical profession which is fit for the demands and expectations of society involves ensuring that practitioners learn what it means to behave in a ‘professional’ way. Codes of professional conduct have been developed for medical students in the UK, but the literature on how medical schools actually apply these is small. More detail is needed to evaluate approaches to assessing professionalism, or to analyse the extent to which students ‘fail’ this aspect. Aim: To describe one UK medical school's approach to monitoring and assessing aspects of professional behaviour; quantify the prevalence and severity of behaviours recognised as cause of concern in the first 6 years of the programme; evaluate whether there is evidence of any association between professional and academic underperformance and draw conclusions for further development of fitness to practice procedures. Methods: Mixed methods utilising exam board and administrative data for statistical and descriptive analysis. Results: Even under detailed scrutiny, only 3% of students received formal warnings for behavioural problems over the course of a 5-year programme, and notifications decreased as students entered the senior years. There was a trend towards association between academic and professional underperformance. Conclusion: Creating clear expectations, providing positive role models and monitoring student behaviour makes explicit what is expected of students as ‘professionals in the making’, and contributes to overall low rates of misdemeanour. The predictive value of recurrent and serious behavioural problems is not yet known as it is too soon for these graduates to have established careers. Students who are struggling academically may also present with unprofessional behaviours but the cause of this is unclear. Further research is needed to benchmark systems across the UK, and to know whether formalising expectations of undergraduates result in less problems in subsequent practice.
Corporate governance, ownership structure and performance of SMEs in Ghana: implications for financing opportunities

Purpose – This study seeks to assess how the adoption of corporate governance structures affects the performance of SMEs (small to medium‐sized enterprises) in Ghana.Design/methodology/approach – Regression analysis is used to estimate the relationship between corporate governance and ownership structure and performance.Findings – The results show that board size, board composition, management skill level, CEO duality, inside ownership, family business, and foreign ownership have significantly positive impacts on profitability. Corporate governance can greatly assist the SME sector by infusing better management practices, stronger internal auditing, greater opportunities for growth and new strategic outlook through non‐executive directors. It is clear that corporate governance structures influence performance of SMEs in Ghana.Originality/value – This paper provides insights on the effects of corporate governance and ownership structure on the performance of Ghanaian SMEs. The paper also shows the implicat.
Developmental trajectories of anxious and depressive problems during the transition from childhood to adolescence: Personality × Parenting interactions

Abstract This study examined separate developmental trajectories of anxious and depressive symptoms from childhood to adolescence (9–15 years) in a community-based sample (N = 290). At three measurement points, mothers and fathers reported on their children's anxious and depressive symptoms, and at Time 1 they reported on lower order child personality facets and on their parenting. By means of growth mixture modeling, three developmental trajectories were identified for anxious symptoms: steady low (82%), moderate increasing–decreasing (5.9%), and high declining groups (12.1%). For depressive symptoms, two developmental trajectories were found: steady low (94.1%) and moderate increasing groups (5.9%). Higher shyness, irritability, and altruism predicted membership in more problematic anxious and depressive groups. The personality facets energy, optimism, compliance, and anxiety were unique predictors for class membership for anxious symptoms, and the effects of shyness, irritability, and compliance were moderated by overreactive parenting. Shyness and irritability increased the probability of following the moderate increasing–decreasing anxiety trajectory, but only in the context of high or average levels of overreactive parenting. Compliance increased the probability of following the moderate increasing–decreasing and high decreasing trajectories in the context of high overreactive parenting. Our results indicate that childhood personality facets differentiate trajectories of anxious and depressive symptoms in theoretically compelling ways.
Forecasting Nigerian Stock Market Returns using ARIMA and Artificial Neural Network Models

The study reports empirical evidence that artificial neural network based models are applicable to forecasting of stock market returns. The Nigerian stock market logarithmic returns time series was tested for the presence of memory using the Hurst coefficient before the models were trained. The test showed that the logarithmic returns process is not a random walk and that the Nigerian stock market is not efficient. Two artificial neural network based models were developed in the study. These networks are and whose out-of-sample forecast performance was compared with a baseline model. The results obtained in the study showed that artificial neural network based models are capable of mimicking closely the log-returns as compared to the based model. The out-of-sample evaluations of the trained models were based on the , , and the directional change metric respectively. Based on these metrics, it was found that the artificial neural network based models outperformed the based model in forecasting future developments of the returns process. Another result of the study shows that instead of using extensive market data, simple technical indicators can be used as predictors for forecasting future values of the stock market returns given that the returns has memory of its past.
Essay on the Use of Subjective Well-Being Data in Economic Analysis: An Empirical Study Using Developed and Developing Countries Data

This thesis studies the determinants of subjective well-being, with the main focus on the data relating to developing countries. Chapters 2, 3, and 4 use new South African integrated household data to study the determinants of perceived quality of life at the cross-section. The fifth chapter compares the cross-sectional and over time structures of subjective economic well-being for Indonesia, whilst the sixth chapter uses reported well-being data from the British household panel survey to test an 'old' economic hypothesis in a new way. Chapter 2 tests whether the determinants of subjective well-being are the same when comparing poor and rich nations. Using South Africa as a case study, we find from the full sample analysis that in most comparable cases, the coefficient signs of the usual socio-economic factors in the life satisfaction regression equations for South Africa in 1993 are typically similar to that which would have been expected from data in the more-developed countries. However, our subpopulation regressions reveal very distinct life satisfaction patterns by race and region prior to the end of apartheid in South Africa. Chapter 3 analyses the labour market phenomenon in South Africa. We test whether unemployment hurts less in terms of life satisfaction when there is more of it around. After controlling for the relevant socio-economic factors, we find the unemployed's well-being to be significantly and positively correlated with the levels of others' unemployment in the region. Using the South African data set of 1997, the fourth chapter explores the contemporaneous relationship between measures of criminal victimization and reported well-being. We find crime victims to report significantly lower well-being than the non-victims, ceteris paribus. Reported life satisfaction is lower for nonvictimized respondents currently living in higher crime areas. However, we find some evidence that criminal victimization hurts less in areas of higher crime rates. Chapter 5 examines the cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships between objective and subjective economic ladder for Indonesia. It finds that individuals' perceptions of economic rank in the economy are more dependent on his or her socio-economic characteristics (i.e. health, education, marital status), as well as attitudes towards future economic ladder, than the current spending behaviour would normally reveal. The correlation between objective and subjective economic ladder is also weakened considerably when an individual's inborn predispositions are controlled for in the regression. Chapter 6 tests whether one's partner's happiness increases one's own happiness in a marriage. After using "residual" self-rated health to provide an instrument for the partner's life satisfaction and allowing controls on individual fixed-effects, we find strong evidence of an interdependent relationship in the reported life satisfaction between married partners, which is not present for those whom are merely Cohabiting.
The Effect of Phenoxyacetic Herbicides on the Uptake of Copper, Zinc and Manganese by Triticum Aestivum L.

dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and 4-chloro-2-methylphenoxyacetic acid (MCPA) are active substances in many weed-killer agents commonly used for the protection of crops. The literature data accom- panied by our former studies showed that in weak-acid and neutral environments these compounds react with bivalent metal ions and form complexes of limited solubility in water. It was assumed that the formation of the complexes can also occur between metals present in soil and herbicides used for plant spraying, which can reduce the uptake of the metals by the above-ground parts of the plants. Our studies concerned copper, zinc and manganese determination in wheat cultured using the pot method under laboratory conditions. Cultures were treated after sprouting with either 2,4-D or MCPA. The content of copper, manganese and zinc was deter- mined in the wheat straw. In comparison with the content in plants untreated with herbicides, the respective values were lower by ~50% for Mn, 20% for Cu and 13% for Zn.
Infection of Nonhuman Primates with Recombinant Human Metapneumovirus Lacking the SH, G, or M2-2 Protein Categorizes Each as a Nonessential Accessory Protein and Identifies Vaccine Candidates

ABSTRACT Recombinant human metapneumovirus (HMPV) in which the SH, G, or M2 gene or open reading frame was deleted by reverse genetics was evaluated for replication and vaccine efficacy following topical administration to the respiratory tract of African green monkeys, a permissive primate host. Replication of the ΔSH virus was only marginally less efficient than that of wild-type HMPV, whereas the ΔG and ΔM2-2 viruses were reduced sixfold and 160-fold in the upper respiratory tract and 3,200-fold and 4,000-fold in the lower respiratory tract, respectively. Even with the highly attenuated mutants, there was unequivocal HMPV replication at each anatomical site in each animal. Thus, none of these three proteins is essential for HMPV replication in a primate host, although G and M2-2 increased the efficiency of replication. Each gene-deletion virus was highly immunogenic and protective against wild-type HMPV challenge. The ΔG and ΔM2-2 viruses are promising vaccine candidates that are based on independent mechanisms of attenuation and are appropriate for clinical evaluation.
Development of the principal nucleus trigeminal lemniscal projections in the mouse

The principal sensory (PrV) nucleus‐based trigeminal lemniscus conveys whisker‐specific neural patterns to the ventroposteromedial (VPM) nucleus of the thalamus and subsequently to the primary somatosensory cortex. Here we examined the perinatal development of this pathway with carbocyanine dye labeling in embryonic and early postnatal mouse brains. We developed a novel preparation in which the embryonic hindbrain and the diencephalon are flattened out, allowing a birds‐eye view of the PrV lemniscus in its entirety. For postnatal brains we used another novel approach by sectioning the brain along an empirically determined oblique horizontal angle, again preserving the trigeminothalamic pathway. PrV neurons are born along the hindbrain ventricular zone and migrate radially for a short distance to coalesce into a nucleus adjacent to the ascending trigeminal tract. During migration of the spindle‐shaped cell bodies, slender axonal processes grow along the opposite direction towards the floor plate. As early as embryonic day (E) 11, pioneering axons tipped with large growth cones cross the ventral midline and immediately make a right angle turn. By E13 many PrV axons form fascicles crossing the midline and follow a rostral course. PrV axons reach the midbrain by E15 and the thalamus by E17. While the target recognition and invasion occurs prenatally, organization of PrV axon terminals into whisker‐specific rows and patches takes place during the first 4 postnatal (P) days. Initially diffuse and exuberant projections in the VPM at P1 coalesce into row and whisker specific terminal zones by P4. J. Comp. Neurol. 521:299–311, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Novel Apoptosis Suppressor Apsup from the Baculovirus Lymantria dispar Multiple Nucleopolyhedrovirus Precludes Apoptosis by Preventing Proteolytic Processing of Initiator Caspase Dronc

ABSTRACT We previously identified a novel baculovirus-encoded apoptosis suppressor, Apsup, from the baculovirus Lymantria dispar multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (LdMNPV). Apsup inhibits the apoptosis of L. dispar Ld652Y cells triggered by infection with p35-defective Autographa californica MNPV (vAcΔp35) and exposure to actinomycin D or UV light. Here, we examined the functional role of Apsup in apoptosis regulation in insect cells. Apsup prevented apoptosis and the proteolytic processing of L. dispar initiator caspase Dronc (Ld-Dronc) in Ld652Y cells triggered by overexpression of Ld-Dronc, LdMNPV inhibitor-of-apoptosis 3 (IAP3), or Hyphantria cunea MNPV IAP1. In vAcΔp35-infected apoptotic Ld652Y cells, Apsup restricted apoptosis induction and prevented processing of endogenous Ld-Dronc. Conversely, upon RNA interference (RNAi)-mediated silencing of apsup, LdMNPV-infected Ld652Y cells, which typically support high-titer virus replication, underwent apoptosis, accompanied by the processing of endogenous Ld-Dronc. Furthermore, endogenous Ld-Dronc coimmunoprecipitated with transiently expressed Apsup, indicating that Apsup physically interacts with Ld-Dronc. Apsup prevented the apoptosis of Sf9 cells triggered by vAcΔp35 infection but did not inhibit apoptosis or activation of caspase-3-like protease in vAcΔp35-infected Drosophila melanogaster S2 cells. Apsup also inhibited the proteolytic processing of L. dispar effector caspase Ld-caspase-1 in the transient expression assay but did not physically interact with Ld-caspase-1. These results demonstrate that Apsup inhibits apoptosis in Ld652Y cells by preventing the proteolytic processing of Ld-Dronc. Together with our previous findings showing that Apsup prevents the processing of both overexpressed Ld-Dronc and Bombyx mori Dronc, these results also demonstrate that Apsup functions as an effective apoptotic suppressor in various lepidopteran, but not dipteran, insect cells.