Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Capital Structure and The Profitability of Listed Retail Firms

The South African retail sector continues to experience a decline in sales and returns amidst growing external competition and a drop in consumer confidence stemming from the recent credit downgrades in the country. Yet, firms in this sector appear to maintain high debt to equity levels. This study investigated whether the capital structure practices of these firms influence their profitability. A Panel data methodology, using three regression estimators, is applied to a balanced sample of 16 retail firms listed on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange (JSE) during the period 2008-2016. The analysis estimates functions relating capital structure composition with the return on assets (ROA). Results reveal a statistically significant but negative relationship between all measures of debt (short-term, long-term, total debt) with profitability, suggesting a possible inclination towards the pecking order theory of financing behaviour, for listed retail firms. Additionally, retail firms are highly leveraged yet over 75% of this debt is short-term in nature. Policy interventions need to investigate the current restrictions on long-term debt financing which offers longerterm and affordable financing, to boost returns. While this study’s methodology differs slightly from earlier studies, it incorporates vital aspects from these studies, and simultaneously specifies a possible model fit. This helps to capture unique but salient characteristics like the transitional effects of debt financing on firm profitability. It therefore delivers some unique findings on the financing behaviour of retail firms that both in form policy change, while stimulating further research on the phenomenon.
Robust latent poisson deconvolution from multiple imperfect features for web topic detection

In web topic detection, detecting “hot” topics from enormous User-Generated Content (UGC) on web data poses two main difficulties that conventional approaches can barely handle: 1) poor feature representations from noisy images and short texts; and 2) uncertain roles of modalities where visual content is either highly or weakly relevant to textual cues due to less-constrained data. In this paper, following the detection by ranking approach, we address the problem by learning a robust shared representation from multiple, noisy and complementary features, and integrating both textual and visual graphs into a k-Nearest Neighbor Similarity Graph (k-N2SG). Then Non-negative Matrix Factorization using Random walk (NMFR) is introduced to generate topic candidates. An efficient fusion of multiple graphs is then done by a Latent Poisson Deconvolution (LPD) which consists of a poisson deconvolution with sparse basis similarities for each edge. Experiments show significantly improved accuracy of the proposed approach in comparison with the state-of-the-art methods on two public data sets.
The effect of operational loss events on the reputation of South African banks

With few previous data and literature based on the South African banking sector, the key aim of this study was to contribute further results concerning the effect of operational loss events on the reputation of South African banks. The study primarily focused on identifying reputational risk among Regal Treasury Bank, Saambou Bank, Standard Bank and African bank. The events announced by these banks occurred between 2000 and 2014. The results indicated significant cumulative abnormal returns on the announcement day for three of the four banks.
Expression of Calbindin-D28k in a Pancreatic Isletβ -Cell Line Protects against Cytokine-Induced Apoptosis and Necrosis.

Cytokines produced by immune system cells that infiltrate pancreatic islets are candidate mediators of islet β-cell destruction in autoimmune (type 1) diabetes mellitus. Because the calcium binding protein, calbindin-D28k, can prevent apoptotic cell death in different cell types, we investigated the possibility that calbindin-D28k may prevent cytokine-mediated islet β-cell destruction. Using the expression vector BSRα, rat calbindin-D28k was stably expressed in the pancreatic isletβ -cell line, βTC-3. Calbindin-D28k expression resulted in increased cell survival in the presence of the cytotoxic combination of the cytokines IL-1β (30 U/ml), TNFα (103 U/ml), and interferon γ (103 U/ml). The greatest protection was observed in the βTC-3 cell clone expressing the highest concentration of calbindin-D28k. Apoptotic cell death was detected by annexin V staining and by the TdT-mediated dUTP-X nick end labeling assay in vector-transfected βTC-3 cells incubated with cytokines (14–15% apoptotic cells). The number of.
Impact Of Service Quality on Customer Satisfaction in Maldives Tourism Industry

This research attempts to find the impact of service quality on customer satisfaction and retention in Maldives tourism industry. To measure the variables used in the research, a 5-point Likert type questionnaire for performance-only-measure was developed, as in SERVPERF model. A total of 30 questions, including the 22 questions in original SERVQUAL scale, along with additional questions to measure the dependant variables, Customer Satisfaction was included. The independent variables used were, Responsiveness, Assurance, Tangibles, Empathy and Reliability. A descriptive and explanatory research design was selected for this study. A total of 120 samples from different types of tourist establishments, such as Resorts, Guest Houses and Safari Boats were taken using random probability sampling. The data collected was analysed using SPSS 21.0 software, performing descriptive, regression and correlation analysis. The results of this study confirmed three aspects of service quality, Responsiveness, Tangibles and reliability to have positive and significant impact on customer satisfaction. According to the analysis done, Assurance and Empathy does not show an impact on customer satisfaction and retention. As this study was done across all types of tourist establishments in Maldives, a general view is portrayed, and to determine the exact impact of a dimension on a particular tourist establishment, future study is anticipated.
Context aware clustering in VANETs: A game theoretic perspective

This paper focuses on a particular application of coalitional game theory to Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANET), involving only vehicular-to-vehicular communications. Moreover, networking is performed in an ad hoc basis to pursue full context awareness of vehicles. The proposed approach relies upon the setting up of cluster as soon as convoys temporarily arise in traffic dynamics. First, we define a utility function for each node under the hypothesis of being an ordinary node, cluster head or free node. We further prove that a selfish approach is suboptimal when compared to a game of coalition. Then, the communication between clusters (inter clusters communications) has been implicitly modelled according to this approach. Finally, from the simulation results, it is shown that a coalitional game outperforms a selfish approach for different nodes spatial deployment and mobility patterns.
Co-design and action learning in local public services

The paper argues that from a new public governance and service management perspective, local public services are best conceptualised as service systems in which users co-produce and co-design; this differentiates public from private services, which have lower of trust and shared values resulting in a goods-dominant logic and are an alternative to the new public management viewpoint. Referencing new case studies from Finland and Scotland, we further argue that for local public servicesŉ co-production as an action- learning environment supports and encourages co-design: this makes local public services a special case of codesign. Analysing the two cases of co-design, we argue that since public services are subject to public scrutiny, and since design is a social activity, there exists a wider democratic footprint. Finally, we argue that co-design of local public services is best analysed from the perspective of action learning, for which we suggest an analytical framework.
Cysteine Substitutions Define Etomidate Binding and Gating Linkages in the α-M1 Domain of γ-Aminobutyric Acid Type A (GABAA) Receptors*

Background: Etomidate induces anesthesia via intersubunit transmembrane sites in GABAA receptors. Results: In receptors engineered with α-M1 domain cysteines, GABA accelerates modification. Etomidate inhibits modification at three positions. Conclusion: Etomidate contacts a subdomain of α-M1 linked to channel gating, consistent with in silico model docking. Significance: We identify new structures that both bind anesthetic and modulate channel gating through rearrangement. Etomidate is a potent general anesthetic that acts as an allosteric co-agonist at GABAA receptors. Photoreactive etomidate derivatives labeled αMet-236 in transmembrane domain M1, which structural models locate in the β+/α- subunit interface. Other nearby residues may also contribute to etomidate binding and/or transduction through rearrangement of the site. In human α1β2γ2L GABAA receptors, we applied the substituted cysteine accessibility method to α1-M1 domain residues extending from α1Gln-229 to α1Gln-242. We used electrophysiology to characterize each mutant's sensitivity to GABA and etomidate. We also measured rates of sulfhydryl modification by p-chloromercuribenzenesulfonate (pCMBS) with and without GABA and tested if etomidate blocks modification of pCMBS-accessible cysteines. Cys substitutions in the outer α1-M1 domain impaired GABA activation and variably affected etomidate sensitivity. In seven of eight residues where pCMBS modification was evident, rates of modification were accelerated by GABA co-application, indicating that channel activation increases water and/or pCMBS access. Etomidate reduced the rate of modification for cysteine substitutions at α1Met-236, α1Leu-232 and α1Thr-237. We infer that these residues, predicted to face β2-M3 or M2 domains, contribute to etomidate binding. Thus, etomidate interacts with a short segment of the outer α1-M1 helix within a subdomain that undergoes significant structural rearrangement during channel gating. Our results are consistent with in silico docking calculations in a homology model that orient the long axis of etomidate approximately orthogonal to the transmembrane axis.
Crypto backup and key escrow

cryptographic keys. Using these mechanisms provides several benefits, including protection of corporate assets. The techniques are also applicable beyond the corporate equity problem to the problem of key escrow in which backup keys can serve the purposes of law enforcement. The recommended system has a threshold property designed so a user can choose among backup keys, each shared among several agents. In this system, a shared backup key need never be completely assembled, even when used. When encrypting a file, I often have several worries: • Will I be able to decrypt the file in the future? • Will the key I need to decrypt the file be available to me when I need it? • Will my colleagues who need to use the file have access to it when I am not available—while access to others is denied?
Associations Between Season of Birth and the Risk of Lung Cancer: Epidemiological Findings From Hungary

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. Both incidence and mortality of lung cancer are especially high in Hungary. Several investigations suggested recently that month of birth (MOB) is associated with the risks of several nonmalignant disorders as well as some malignant disorders. Only a few studies investigated previously the association between MOB and risk of lung cancer, but they provided inconsistent results. We, therefore, decided to investigate this issue in a large sample of individuals who died from lung cancer. Accordingly, we determined the MOB-associated risk of death by lung cancer between the years 1970 and 2009 among all individuals born in Hungary between 1925 and 1934. The final sample included about two million people. A total of 61,904 deaths by lung cancer occurred in this sample during the period investigated. Using analysis of variance (ANOVA), we did not find significant association between MOB and risk of lung cancer death, either in the whole population investigated (F = 1.492; p = .145) or in the female subpopulation (F = 1.535; p = .129). However, those males born in late spring (May–June) had a lower risk of lung cancer development (F = 2.577; p = .006). Results of the Edwards test also did not suggest consistent association between MOB and risk of lung cancer death in the whole investigated period (1925–1934) in any populations (i.e., whole population or male and female subpopulations). In conclusion, we did not find significant association between MOB and risk of lung cancer in our total sample (although results alluded to a weak association between MOB and risk of lung cancer development among males). The possible associations between MOB and the risk of lung cancer development (or smoking) would require confirmation (or refutation) in large studies from other populations. (Author correspondence: dome_peter@yahoo.co.uk)
Education and Ebola: initiating the cascade of emergency healthcare training

In response to the 2014 Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa, the UK deployed a Joint Inter-Agency Task Force to Sierra Leone. As well as constructing Ebola treatment units, the force supported a rapidly upscaled mass programme of training for host nation healthcare workers in basic knowledge of Ebola and personal protective equipment. A bespoke training course was developed in collaboration with the WHO and other partners over a period of 2 weeks, taught to 119 trainers the following week, and then cascaded to over 4000 Ebola workers over the following month. This article describes curriculum design, content delivery and assessment of this unique Training The Trainers course delivered in austere circumstances. Key learning points are highlighted and supplementary material is provided to inform future deployed clinical education initiatives.
Localization of freeze-fracture planes of yeast membranes.

In freeze-etch replicas the position of the plane of fracture along membranes is controversial; in an attempt to clarify the situation we have examined drops of yeast suspension frozen at -160 °C, fractured and then freeze-substituted with a solution of osmium tetroxide in acetone. The drops were embedded in Araldite and sections were cut perpendicular to the plane of fracture to show where the cleavage had occurred. At the tonoplast the membrane split and the plane of fracture ran between the 2 darkly staining lines. At the plasmalemma the cleavage plane was not clearly localized. The inner half of the membrane remained with the protoplast and darkly staining material could be seen on the wall. However, in some places the dark line at the surface of the protoplast could be resolved into 2 lines. The cleavage plane appeared to change at the invaginations of the plasmalemma, where on fracture the whole membrane sometimes remained attached to the wall.
Built-in aging monitoring for safety-critical applications

Complex electronic systems for safety or mission-critical applications (automotive, space) must operate for many years in harsh environments. Reliability issues are worsening with device scaling down, while performance and quality requirements are increasing. One of the key reliability issues is to monitor long-term performance degradation due to aging in such harsh environments. For safe operation, or for preventive maintenance, it is desirable that such monitoring may be performed on chip. On-line built-in aging sensors (activated from time to time) can be an adequate solution for this problem. The purpose of this paper is to present a novel methodology for electronic systems aging monitoring, and to introduce a new architecture for an aging sensor. Aging monitoring is carried out by observing the degrading timing response of the digital system. The proposed solution takes into account power supply voltage and temperature variations and allows several levels of failure prediction. Simulation results are presented, that ascertain the usefulness of the proposed methodology.
Identifying the driving factors behind observed elevational range shifts on European mountains

Aim In recent decades species ranges have shifted upwards in elevation and northwards in latitude. These shifts are commonly interpreted as a response to recent climate warming. However, several alternative hypotheses have been proposed to explain the elevational shifts, including increased deposition of atmospheric nitrogen,changes in precipitation and dispersal limitation.We evaluate these hypotheses and attempt to identify the dominant drivers for the observed shifts in the upper range limits of alpine plant species. Location European mountains from Svalbard to the southern Alps. Methods We assembled data on observed shifts in the upper range limit of alpine plants over 40 to 100 years on 114 mountains. We related the observed shifts to recent changes in temperature and precipitation and to recent deposition of atmospheric nitrogen. Changes in traits and habitat preferences of species in the summit assemblages were used to evaluate the potential role of different drivers. Results Seventy per cent of the species that showed a detectable change in their upper range limits between surveys shifted their range limits upwards. The same species tend to move up on different mountains. There are, however, large differences between mountains in the proportion of species shifting upwards. This proportion is not found to be statistically related to local changes in temperature. Correspondingly, warmth-demanding species did not move upward more frequently than expected by chance.Snow-bed species have become more common on summits. Main conclusions Our data do not support the idea that climate warming is the dominant factor causing the observed range shifts of alpine plant species on European mountains:first,the amount of change in species assemblages on the summits studied is not related statistically to the amount of climate warming; second, those species that have moved upwards are not particularly warmth demanding.
Characteristics Of private markets and accessibility of small and medium enterprises to public procurement markets: Pharmaceuticals in egypt

The current paper explores the effect of private market characteristics on the access of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to public markets in some sectors. Using survey data of small and medium enterprises in the pharmaceutical sector in Egypt, we confirmed this effect. We found that regulations of drugs pricing and registration in the private market constrained the capacity of those firms to compete in the public markets. However, some other factors play it the other way. The policy implications of these findings indicate that governments need to account for private markets characteristics when designing support packages for smaller enterprises in public procurement markets.
Guanine nucleotide activation of, and competition between, RAS proteins from Saccharomyces cerevisiae

In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, yeast RAS proteins are potent activators of adenylate cyclase. In the present work we measured the activity of adenylate cyclase in membranes from Saccharomyces cerevisiae which overexpress this enzyme. The response of the enzyme to added RAS2 proteins bound with various guanine nucleotides and their analogs suggests that RAS2 proteins are active in their GTP-bound form and are virtually inactive in their GDP-bound form. Also, active RAS2 protein is not inhibited by inactive RAS2, suggesting that the inactive form does not compete with the active form in binding to its effector.
Bearing-only multiple sources localization and the spatial spectrum

In this paper, a grid-based matching multiple sources localization (MUSOL) method is proposed and a spatial spectrum about multiple sources positions is obtained. The spatial spectrum obtained by MUSOL can provide a visualization results about the possible region of the multiple sources positions only if the AOA measurements have the right data association. This property permit the MUSOL not to perform an exhaustive search over all possible cases of AOA combinations, which may reduce the computational complexity in data association. Finally, numerical examples are implemented to validate the performance of the proposed grid-based matching MUSOL.
Knowledge Sharing and Innovation Capability

The study was done to investigate the effect of individual predictors (enjoyment in helping others and knowledge self-efficacy), organizational predictors (top management support and organizational rewards) and technology predictors (information and communication technology use) on knowledge sharing processes and if the predictors lead to innovation capability. The result of the study indicated that one individual factor (knowledge self-efficacy) and two organizational factors (top management support and organizational rewards) significantly affect knowledge sharing. Future research can investigate how individual traits (such as age, education level, and work experience) and organizational characteristics (such as organizational size and type) may either mediate or moderate the relationships between knowledge enablers and processes. From the managerial viewpoint, the associations among knowledge sharing enablers, processes, and organization innovation capability may shed a light on how organizations can motivate knowledge sharing culture among their employees to maintain their performance. The results of this research provide a conceptual foundation towards the body of knowledge in the field of knowledge sharing and can also be utilized to investigate the relationships among knowledge sharing predictors, enablers, processes, and innovation capability. In terms of practical perspective, this research provided several predictors that are necessary towards successful knowledge sharing, and discussed the implications of the predictors in order to develop organizational strategies that encourage and improve knowledge sharing among employees.
Social commerce: Informative richness and perceived quality of products

Increasingly more people access virtual online markets in order to buy and sell products, establish relationships and give way to forms of social commerce. In these contexts, it appears necessary to have a clear indication on the way in which products should be presented in order to generate a sense of trust and therefore encourage the purchase to be made. Thirty-five subjects were involved in this study which were then required to evaluate simulated webpages for the online sales of different products. The results indicate that the webpages that appeared richer in content from an informative perspective, and above all the ones that exhibited an image of a subject using a product, were the most preferred. However, this preference did not have an impact either on the opinions relating to the quality of the product, the reliability of the site or the seller, or on the subjective value of the purchasable item. From a qualitative analysis, it emerged that these aspects would more likely be influenced by the relational opportunities that could be provided by the site.