Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Prediction Model for Convertible Debentures

The Accounting Principles Board (APB) in its Opinions Number 9 and 151 expressed concern that in the absence of special treatment for certain securities, among them convertible debentures, investors might be misled in evaluating the earnings per share of firms whose capital structures, i.e., those structures including "potentially dilutive convertible securities, options, warrants or other rights that upon conversion or exercise could in the aggregate dilute earnings per common share. "2 Accordingly, the APB recommended that certain convertible securities should be classified as the equivalent of common stock for the purpose of calculating a corporation's primary earnings per share. In Opinion No. 15, the APB specified that the determination of which convertible debentures should be so classified is to be made by comparing the security's cash yield with the prime bank rate.3 In this paper we employ a different criterion for classifying at year-end convertible debentures as either debt or as residual securities. Specifically, we propose that the classification be based on whether conversion is predicted during the subsequent year. To this end, a set of variables will be examined to determine the criterion or set of criteria which best discriminates between converted and nonconverted groups. The statistical technique used for this purpose was multiple discriminant analysis (MDA).
A reason-based explanation for moral dumbfounding

The moral dumbfounding phenomenon for harmless taboo violations is often cited as a critical piece of empirical evidence motivating anti-rationalist models of moral judgment and decision-making. Moral dumbfounding purportedly occurs when an individual remains obstinately and steadfastly committed to a moral judgment or decision even after admitting inability to provide reasons and arguments to support it (Haidt, 2001). Early empirical support for the moral dumbfounding phenomenon led some philosophers and psychologists to suggest that affective reactions and intuitions, in contrast with reasons or reasoning, are the predominant drivers of moral judgments and decisions. We investigate an alternative reason-based explanation for moral dumbfounding: that putatively harmless taboo violations are judged to be morally wrong because of the high perceived likelihood that the agents could have caused harm, even though they did not cause harm in actuality. Our results indicate that judgments about the likelihood of causing harm consistently and strongly predicted moral wrongness judgments. Critically, a manipulation drawing attention to harms that could have occurred (but did not actually occur) systematically increased the severity of moral wrongness judgments. Thus, many participants were sensitive to at least one reason — the likelihood of harm — in making their moral judgments about these kinds of taboo violations. We discuss the implications of these findings for rationalist and anti-rationalist models of moral judgment and decision-making.
Disappearing hyperdense middle cerebral artery sign in ischaemic stroke patients treated with intravenous thrombolysis: clinical course and prognostic significance

Background and purpose: Hyperdense middle cerebral artery sign (HMCAS) on CT is a well known indication of thromboembolic arterial occlusion. Its disappearance after thrombolytic therapy is poorly described. Taking the rate of HMCAS disappearance as a surrogate for MCA recanalisation, its prognostic value after intravenous thrombolysis was examined. Methods: 1905 stroke patients with HMCAS on admission CT scan in the Safe Implementation of Treatment in Stroke-International Stroke Thrombolysis Register (SITS-ISTR) were studied. On follow-up CT scans 22–36 h after thrombolysis, HMCAS disappeared in 831 cases, persisted in 788 and was uncertain in 122; follow-up CT was not done in 164 cases. Results: Patients whose HMCAS disappeared were younger (median age 67 years vs 69 years for persistent; p = 0.03), with milder stroke (admission National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score was 16 vs 17; p<0.005) and were less likely to have early infarct signs on admission CT (26% vs 33%; p<0.005). Patients with disappearing HMCAS were more likely to have early improvement in NIHSS score (median improvement 2 vs 0 at 2 h; 4 vs 1 at 24 h), be independent at 3 months (42% vs 19%), with fewer deaths (15% vs 30%) than those with persistent HMCAS. In multivariate analysis, HMCAS disappearance independently predicted functional independence and survival. Early NIHSS improvement independently predicted HMCAS disappearance. Conclusions: HMCAS disappeared after intravenous thrombolysis in about half of cases and these patients had twice as good outcomes compared with those with persistent HMCAS. The prognosis in patients with MCA occlusion that persists after intravenous thrombolysis is poor, which may indicate the need for an alternative treatment approach to this subgroup.
Nonlinear adaptive backstepping controller design for grid currents regulation of a CSI based PV system with external disturbances

In this paper, a nonlinear adaptive controller for regulating the grid of a current source inverter (CSI) based three-phase grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) system is proposed. The proposed control structure is composed with an outer control loop-responsible for controlling the DC-side inductor current and the inner current control loop-responsible for controlling injected current into the utility grid. The proposed adaptive controller is designed recursively by considering external disturbances within the system and these unknown external disturbances are estimated through the adaption laws. The overall stability of the whole CSI based three-phase grid-connected PV system is verified by formulating the control Lyapunov functions (CLFs) at different stages throughout the design process of the proposed controller. Finally, the performance of the designed controller is tested on a similar CSI based three-phase grid-connected PV system under different atmospheric conditions. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed control scheme can effectively meet the desired control objectives as compared to the existing controller in terms of settling time and power quality.
Polarographic Methods for Determination of Ascorbic Acid in Pharmacetical Preparations

Ascorbic acid is determined polarographically present in various types of medicinal samples by internal standard addition method. Potassium hydrogen phthalate buffer (pH 4.0) containing 0.25% oxalic acid and 0.008 % gelatin solution used as supporting electrolytes and maxima suppressor. Presence of colouring matters does not interfere, and sample handling and solution preparation for analysis can be carried out sufficiently fast to prevent appreciable oxidation. Polarographic determination of ascorbic acid can be carried out even in presence of comparable amounts of other ingredients such as Vitamins A, B, C, D, and E. Results of estimation of ascorbic acid present in different multivitamin medicinal samples by internal standard addition method obtained are in good agreement with the quoted values. The method is precise as indicated by low values of standard deviation. Comparative study of ascorbic acid estimation by polarographic internal standard addition method with respect to their manufacturing company was also done.
G‐CSF contributes at the healing of tunica media of arteriotomy‐injured rat carotids by promoting differentiation of vascular smooth muscle cells

Restenosis is a complex pathophysiological disease whose causative mechanisms are not fully understood. Previous studies allowed us to demonstrate the efficacy of bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) transplantation in limiting the pathophysiological remodeling in a model of arteriotomy‐induced (re) stenosis. In the current research we studied the effectiveness of G‐CSF treatment on male rate rats that were subjected carotid arteriotomy in order to evaluate a potentially effective non‐invasive strategy that recapitulates the MSC‐mediated recovery of injured vessels. WKY male rats were subjected carotid arteriotomy and given a nine day treatment (3 days pre‐ to 6 days post‐arteriotomy) with G‐CSF or saline. Carotids were harvested 7 and 30 days following arteriotomy (early‐ and late‐phase, respectively). Although morphometrical analysis did not reveal differences in lumen narrowing between G‐CSF‐ and PBS‐carotids 30 days following arteriotomy, we detected a noticeable conservative effect of G‐CSF treatment on vascular wall morphology. Histological and molecular analysis revealed an increase in cellularity within the tunica media with a concomitant increase of the VSMCs differentiation markers both at early‐ and late‐phases of (re) stenotic response in G‐CSF‐treated carotids (Sm22‐alpha, Myocd, and Smtn). These findings were accompanied by the downregulation of oxidative stress‐related genes in G‐CSF‐injured rats. The effect exerted by G‐CSF in our model of arteriotomy‐induced (re) stenosis seemed support the recovery of the architecture of the tunica media of injured vessels by: (i) inducing VSMCs differentiation; and (ii) limiting the oxidative‐stress response induced by arteriotomy. J. Cell. Physiol. 230: 215–223, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Oil Revenue, Inflation and Growth in Iran: A pre- Exchange Rate reform examination of Dutch disease

The present paper investigated the impact of oil revenue on the inflation and growth rates of Iran in the period of pre-exchange rate reform of 1993. In doing so, dynamic equations for growth, inflation, the exchange rate, money and foreign inflation were estimated. The equations were then used to run a number of simulations of inflation and growth. As a result, it was found out that oil revenue only influences growth by a slow direct effect. Inflation is influenced by oil revenue through a direct effect, foreign prices, and the real exchange rate. The net effect is that greater oil revenue has tended to reduce inflation, though the effect has been greatest since the revolution. A large part of the volatility in inflation and growth appears to be due to the variation in oil revenue rather than boom in themselves.
Role of Cultural Beliefs, Religion, and Spirituality in Mental Health and/or Service Utilization among Immigrants in Canada: A Scoping Review

This paper uses Arksey and O’Malley’s (2005) framework for conducting scoping reviews to examine 25 years of Canadian literature to understand the importance of cultural beliefs, religion, and spirituality in the context of immigrant mental health and/or service utilization. A review of 24 selected articles revealed 4 broad areas relative to the role of religion, spirituality, and culture in these contexts. Based on the findings the authors suggest that in increasingly diverse societies like Canada there is an urgent need for mental health professionals to take into account in their practice their service users’ cultural, religious, and spiritual beliefs.
How predictable are precious metal returns?

This paper provides strong evidence of time-varying return predictability of three precious metals from January 1987 to September 2014. We use three variations of the variance ratio test, the nonlinear Brock, Dechert and Schieinkman test as well as the Hurst exponent to evaluate the time-varying return predictability of precious metals to reduce the risk of spurious results. Our full sample results report mixed findings where some tests indicate significant predictability while some suggest no predictability. However through a time-varying procedure, we show that each precious metal market goes through periods of significant predictability as well as periods of unpredictability. Therefore this finding suggests that return predictability does vary over time and is not a static, all-or-nothing condition and therefore is consistent with the adaptive market hypothesis. We also show that platinum is the most predictable of the three precious metals and silver the least predictable, which may be of great to investors who include precious metals in their investment portfolios.
THE INFLUENCE OF EMPLOYEE SILENCE ON WORK-FAMILY ENRICHMENT AND WORK-FAMILY CONFLICT AMONG EMPLOYEES OF TERTIARY EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS IN NIGERIA

Employee silence has attracted the attention of both academics and practitioners in recent times. When employees intentionally withhold potential input and useful information by displaying silence, organisations are deprived access to useful resource that may help garner a competitive advantage. Withholding ideas and inputs on critical success issues is a serious impediment not only to the organisation, but also to the employee’s physical and mental well-being. Access to valuable information improves work and possibly working conditions that in turn affect other domains other than work. Thus, this study investigates the effects that the employee intentional withholding of organisationally relevant information has on the family work domain of employees in the tertiary education institutions of the North-West geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Data was collected from 228 married employees using self-administered questionnaires. IBM SPSS Statistics and SmartPLS 3 were used to analyse the data. The findings reveal that employee silence has a significant negative relationship on work-family enrichment and no significant relationship on work-family conflict. The implications of the study and directions for future research are suggested.
Segmental Differences in Geometric, Elastic and Contractile Characteristics of Small Intramural Coronary Arteries of the Rat

The depedence of elastic and contractile properties on the caliber of small intramural coronary arteries was investigated in the rat in vitro. Different segments of the left anterior descending coronary artery branching system were prepared for microarteriography. The segments were cannulated at both ends, immersed in oxygenated normal Krebs Ringer (nKR) solution. Intraluminal pressure was changed at a rate of about 0.5 mm Hg/s between 0 and 150 mm Hg in repeated cycles. The outer diameter was continuously measured with microangiometry. Pressure-diameter curves were recorded after preconditioning pressure cycles in nKR, with PGF2α in the bath (7.5 × 10–6 M), and in maximal relaxation with papaverine (2.8 × 10–4 M). Biomechanical parameters were computed for vessels grouped according to their calibers (inner diameters: 50–150, 150–250, 250–350, >350 µm). Distensibility and contractility decreased with increasing caliber of the vessels, while the elastic modulus increased. Spontaneous tone was (at 100 mm Hg in mechanically preconditioned vessels) 18.8 ± 4.5, 8.4 ± 4.4, 9.7 ± 3.7 and 8.3 ± 3.8% in the four groups, respectively. PGF2α contraction was maximal around the 300-µm caliber. Our study is the first direct demonstration that intramural small coronary arteries exhibit characteristic variability in their elastic and contractile properties as a function of their caliber. Such differences may be important in segmentally specific control processes of the coronary microcirculation.
Performance measurement approach for innovation capability in SMEs

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a framework for improving innovation capability through performance measurement in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The development of an organisation’s innovation capability is considered increasingly important in the current literature. Developing such capability is essential, as innovation plays a key role in the survival and growth of organisations. A review of current literature highlights the need for a framework on the development of innovation capability, especially in SMEs. Design/methodology/approach – A literature review was used to form an understanding of previous work in the research area. Previous literature was used to define the key concepts and further to build the conceptual framework. Findings – As a result of the study, a framework for improving innovation capability through performance measurement in SMEs is presented. Key issues that must be addressed are highlighted and discussed. Practical/implications – The paper contai.
Options for Improving Conservation Programs: Insights from Auction Theory and Economic Experiments

The U.S. Department of Agriculture spends over $5 billion per year on conservation programs, mostly on voluntary programs that give financial assistance to farmers and landowners to provide environmental services (such as implementing nutrient management programs or planting native grasses). Since most programs cannot fund all interested parties, program managers must use some mechanism to select applicants. One option is to elicit offers through an auction. This report addresses the use of auctions in conservation programs. It considers how information in the hands of Government officials and rural landowners affects the auction’s performance, and how auction design can reduce Government expenditures or encourage landowners to provide greater environmental services. Results of laboratory experiments are discussed, highlighting shortcomings of common features of conservation program auctions (such as limits on the rent landowners may request), as well as how alternative auction designs can improve performance.
Strategic Housing Policy, Migration and Sorting Around Population Thresholds

We analyse whether, when and how local office-holders respond to the personal, economic incentives embedded in exogenously imposed population thresholds leading to an increased number and/or remuneration of local office-holders. Using data from all 589 Belgian municipalities over the period 1977-2014, local politicians are found to purposefully influence population growth through policy measures aimed at stimulating net in-migration when approaching important population thresholds. We provide evidence that strategic housing policy decisions – i.e. granting additional building permits early in the election cycle to maximize population growth just before the ‘deadline’ to surpass a population threshold – act as a key mechanism.
GM‐CSF and IL‐2 share common control mechanisms in response to costimulatory signals in T cells

Antigen complexed with major histocompatibility complex class I or II molecules on the surface of antigen presenting cells interacts with the T cell receptor (TCR) on the surface of T cells and initiates an activation cascade. So called costimulatory signals, mediated by other cell surface interactions or soluble cytokines produced by antigen presenting cells, are also required for complete T cell activation. High levels of cytokine gene expression in T cells also required both TCR and costimulatory signals. The granulocyte‐macrophage colony‐stimulating factor requires sequences in the promoter as well as a powerful enhancer located 3kb upstream to respond to TCR‐like signals. These promoter and enhancer regions are mainly activated by the transcription factor nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT). The activation of NFAT by TCR signals has been well described for interleukin‐2 (IL‐2) and IL4 gene transcription in T cells. Costimulatory signals, such as activation of the CD28 cell surface molecule on T cells, lead to activation through a distinct region of the granulocyte‐macrophage colony‐stimulating factor (GM‐CSF) promoter. This region is termed the CK‐1 or CD28RE and appears to bind specific members of the NF‐κB family of transcription factors. Human T leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV‐1) infects T cells and can lead to increase GM‐CSF expression. We have found that the HTLV‐1 transactivator protein, tax, acts as a costimulatory signal for GM‐CSF and IL‐2 gene transcription, in that it can cooperate with TCR signals to mediate high level gene expression. Tax activates the GM‐CSF promoter through the CK‐1/CD28RE region and also activates nuclear factor‐κB binding to this region. However, other transcription factors or coactivators of NF‐κB are required for tax activation but these remain to be identified. The CK‐1/CD28RE of GM‐CSF shows a high degree of similarity to the IL‐2 CD28RE and the IL‐3 gene also contains a related region. This observation, together with the fact that both GM‐CSF and IL‐2 respond to TCR signals via NFAT, implies a high degree of conservation in the regulation of cytokine gene expression in T cells. J. Leukoc. Biol. 57: 767‐773; 1995.
Going Forward by Looking Backwards on the Environmental Kuznets Curve: An Analysis of CFCs, CO2 and the Montreal and Kyoto Protocols

The success of the Montreal Protocol in comparison to the stagnation seen in negotiations surrounding the Kyoto Protocol highlights the importance of a supportive industry group, pre-existing legislation and commitment by a lead nation, affordable and available substitutes, as well as acceptance of the underlying scientific explanation of the link between emissions and a key detrimental impact. The focus on these contrasting intergovernmental agreements within this paper is driven, in part, by the intention to establish that successful emission reductions tend to be associated with a concerted policy effort rather than the level of per capita income. This is in contrast to the concept of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) which contends that a significant negative relationship exists between high levels of national income and per capita emissions. While a nation’s level of development and national income are likely to be linked to an ability to make structural changes and/or the implementation of environmental policy, this paper finds no evidence of an EKC consistent quadratic relationship between income and CFC emissions once key considerations, such as biased estimations and policy effort, have been accounted for.
Expression profiling of the influence of RAS mutants on the TGFB1‐induced phenotype of the pancreatic cancer cell line PANC‐1

Expression profiling analyses were used to elucidate the functional relevance of RAS proteins in mediating the effect of TGFB1 on the transcriptional phenotype of the pancreatic cancer cell line PANC‐1. Despite the presence of one mutated KRAS2 allele in parental PANC‐1 pancreatic cancer cells, RAS‐dependent signal transduction remained susceptible to stimulation by EGF and TGFB1. To analyze the impact of RAS proteins on the TGFB1‐induced transcriptional phenotype, we used PANC‐1 cells stably transfected with a dominant negative HRAS(S17N) mutant or with a constitutively active KRAS2(G12V) mutant. TGFB1 treatment of mock‐transfected PANC‐1 cells led to an expression profile suggestive of epithelial‐mesenchymal transdifferentiation (EMT). Profiling of the HRAS(S17N)‐expressing clone demonstrated that induction of endogenous RAS activity by TGFB1 is required for the development of the TGFB1‐induced transcriptional phenotype of PANC‐1 cells. The expression of the KRAS2(G12V) mutant by itself repressed transcription of markers of epithelial differentiation and induced transcription of several extracellular matrix‐associated genes. This effect was not enhanced further by TGFB1 treatment. In contrast, transcript levels of genes associated with proliferation and cell cycle progression did not appear to be the primary targets of the synergism between the RAS‐ and TGFB1‐dependent cascades. The introduction of the dominant negative and the constitutively active RAS mutants induced partly overlapping and partly inverse effects on the TGFB1‐induced expression profile of PANC‐1 cells. Additional mechanisms such as the induction of autocrine loops and the use of different RAS isoforms or alternate, ERK‐independent signaling pathways may be involved in the interaction between the RAS‐ and the TGFB1‐dependent signaling cascades. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.