Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Socio-economic factors associated with physique of adults of the Purari delta of the Gulf Province, Papua New Guinea

Objective : To examine in detail the relationships between components of the modernization process, including experience of urban life, urban connectedness, education, and the nature and diversity of income sources on adult body size in a Papua New Guinea (PNG) population. Methods : Mean height, weight and body mass index (BMI) of 292 adults surveyed in 1995-97 in the Purari delta, PNG, are reported by age group, and related to modernization variables including urban life, urban connectedness, economic status and education. Results : With respect to BMI, 23% of males and 24% of females had a BMI greater than 25, while 1% of males and 6% of females had a BMI greater than 30. There were also significant numbers of undernourished individuals, especially among the females, where 13% had BMI below 18.5, compared with 5% of males with BMI below this level. Mean stature of younger adults is greater than that of older adults. For the males, height, weight and BMI are all negatively associated with age-squared, and positively associated with income. Weight is also positively associated with having urban relatives, but not with having lived in any urban centre. For the females, height is positively associated with age-squared, weight is positively associated with both income and number of years of education, while BMI is positively associated with income, and with having urban relatives, but not with urban dwelling per se. Conclusions : The secular trend toward increasing height may have been underway since the 1950s. Income level, number of years of education and having urban relatives emerge as core factors influencing body size and fatness in the Purari population.
Measuring the Impact of Non-Prosecution and Deferred Prosecution Agreements on Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Enforcement

Historically, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) had two choices when a business organization was the subject of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) scrutiny: either charge the entity with an FCPA violation or not charge. However, in 2004 the DOJ brought to FCPA enforcement a third option: alternative resolution vehicles called non-prosecution agreements (“NPAs”) and deferred prosecution agreements (“DPAs”). The use of alternative resolution vehicles to resolve FCPA scrutiny is not authorized by the FCPA nor any other specific Congressional legislation. Moreover, DOJ policy states that alternative resolution vehicles are to be used only “under appropriate circumstances. ”However, this article demonstrates that alternative resolution vehicles have become the dominant way the DOJ resolves corporate FCPA scrutiny and serve as an obvious reason for the general increase in FCPA enforcement over the past decade. To the many cheerleaders of increased FCPA enforcement, NPAs and DPAs are thus worthy of applause.Yet in a legal system based on the rule of law, quality of enforcement is more important than quantity of enforcement. Through empirical data and various case studies, this article measures the impact NPAs and DPAs have on the quality of FCPA enforcement and concludes that NPAs and DPAs — while resulting in higher quantity of FCPA enforcement — result in lower quality of FCPA enforcement. This disturbing finding matters not only in the specific context of the FCPA but more broadly as other nations with “FCPA-like” laws adopt U.S.-style alternative resolution vehicles.
Effects Behind Words: Quantifying Qualitative Information in Corporate Announcements

We develop a sentiment metric to analyze the tone and information amount in financial corporate announcements. We improve existing text processing methods by developing a different word selection approach that allows quantifying the sentiment of financial announcements in an intuitive, but effective manner. Applying our approach to corporate announcements, we find, first, that our metric provides superior explanatory power for abnormal returns during the day of the announcement. Second, analyst EPS forecast revisions during the month after the announcement show a significant structural relation to relevant announcement text components based on Tonality. Third, observed short-term stock price reactions immediately following the announcement are less related to EPS forecast revisions than relevant text components, allowing a new perspective on analyzing post-announcement-drift based on direct cause-and-effect relation.
The relationship between information technology (IT)investment and firm’s financial performance of publiclisted companies in Malaysia

Significant amounts of resources have been and continue to be invested in information technology (IT). Much of this investment is made on the basis of assumption that returns will occur. Prior studies have shown that IT investment increases firm’s performances and operational efficiency. Although, IT investment by Malaysian public listed companies (PLCs) increases annually, but the investment is still insufficient. Additionally, empirical studies and scientific research on IT and firm’s performance in Malaysian PLCs are still lacking. The objective of this research work is to examine the relationship between IT investment and firm’s financial performance in Malaysian PLCs. Firm performance was measured by revenue, return on investment (ROI) and return on assets (ROA). A panel data analysis was applied to the data observed from 2009 to 2012. Data for three years on IT investment and firm’s performance was collected from a sample of 90 firms via annual reports. The result of regressing return on investment against IT investment indicates that there is a relationship between IT investment and return on investment. However, the result of regressing return on assets and revenue indicates that there is no relationship between IT investment and return on assets, IT investment and revenue respectively. The analysis provides useful implications for managers to better understand the relationship between IT investment and firms’ performance so that they can make wiser decisions to maximize the business value of their investments.
On-chip digital calibration for automatic input impedance boosting during biopotential measurements

An On-chip digital calibration system is presented to adaptively improve the input impedance of analog front-ends in biopotential measurement systems. The calibration unit controls two 8-bit capacitor banks to generate a negative capacitance and to significantly increase the input impedance of an instrumentation amplifier to above 500MΩ. An oscillation detection scheme protects the system from instability. Simulation results endorse that the calibration scheme is reliable in the presence of process variations. The calibration logic unit was designed, laid out and simulated in 130nm CMOS technology with a 1.2V supply. It consumes 1.2 μW of power and 0.062 mm2 of chip area.
Market Valuation of Accounting Earnings; Review of Evidence and Methodological Issues

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to review the evidence pertaining to accounting valuation and accounting earnings. The paper presents evidence so far on how capital markets value accounting information with specific reference to accounting earnings numbers. Design/Methodology/Approach: The specific review of the development of models used in valuation of accounting information is beyond the scope of this study. However, the paper makes a general review of literature on how capital markets value accounting information with specific reference to accounting earnings numbers. Findings: It is evident from literature review that accounting information is related to prices and market value; therefore accounting earnings are related to market returns. However, evidence is provided that accounting earnings consists of different components such as cash flows, non discretionary accruals and discretionary accruals; each with different implications on market valuation. Originality/Value: This paper is the first review of its kind that focuses specifically on the market valuation of accounting earnings.
Lamb Wave Damage Quantification Using GA-Based LS-SVM

Lamb waves have been reported to be an efficient tool for non-destructive evaluations (NDE) for various application scenarios. However, accurate and reliable damage quantification using the Lamb wave method is still a practical challenge, due to the complex underlying mechanism of Lamb wave propagation and damage detection. This paper presents a Lamb wave damage quantification method using a least square support vector machine (LS-SVM) and a genetic algorithm (GA). Three damage sensitive features, namely, normalized amplitude, phase change, and correlation coefficient, were proposed to describe changes of Lamb wave characteristics caused by damage. In view of commonly used data-driven methods, the GA-based LS-SVM model using the proposed three damage sensitive features was implemented to evaluate the crack size. The GA method was adopted to optimize the model parameters. The results of GA-based LS-SVM were validated using coupon test data and lap joint component test data with naturally developed fatigue cracks. Cases of different loading and manufacturer were also included to further verify the robustness of the proposed method for crack quantification.
Perception of Nurses Regarding Their Role in a Hospital

Perception is a process by which individuals organi ze and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their envir onment. A motivated person is ready to act. How the motivated person actually acts is infl uenced by his or her perception of the situation. Perception depends not only upon the phy sical stimuli, but also on the stimuli’s relation to the surroundings field and on the condi tion within the individual. People’s behavior is based on their perception of what reali ty is, not on reality itself. Perception is understood as the act of seeing what is there to be seen which is influenced by the individual, the object and the situation. Perceptio n is the process by which an individual selects, organizes, and interprets the information inputs to create a meaningful picture of the world. In simple terms, perception is why the suniverse is viewed differently by different people. The perception is measured by ins truments considering role efficacy. Researches show that persons with high role efficac y seem to experience less role stress, anxiety and work related tension The present study was undertaken with an aim of understanding and comparing the role efficacy of nu rses at various levels in a famous hospital in Ludhiana, Punjab (India). All the 120 n urses and 35 head nurses in this hospital were studied for the role efficacy they ex perience. The outcome of this process is discussed in this paper.
Beyond External Constraints on Expropriation of Minority Investors: Preference Heterogeneity, Locus of Control and Firm Valuation

Contrary to previous research which focuses largely on external constraints on expropriation of minority investors, this paper investigates how psychological and socio-political factors affect principal-principal conflicts of interest in firms. We rely on preference heterogeneity and locus of control research to hypothesize about the impact of control types on firm valuation. Our empirical analysis shows that market participants perceive large shareholders’ preference heterogeneity and that control types represent discrete governance contexts with a unique set of conditions, each related to a different level of principal-principal conflicts of interest. We discuss the consequences thereof to minority investors. We conclude about the implications of our results for research on principal-principal conflicts of interests particularly from the point of view of contexts with a reasonable level of minority shareholder protection.
Microfungi associated with Abies needles and Betula leaf litter in a subalpine coniferous forest.

We investigated microfungal assemblages on leaf litter within a subalpine forest in central Japan and their variation with season, litter depth, and litter species. Microfungal assemblages were compared for Abies needles and Betula leaf litter collected from litter and fermentation layers of the forest floor during the growing season in spring, summer, and autumn. A total of 35 and 42 species were isolated from Abies needles and Betula leaf litter, respectively. The observed variation in microfungal assemblages was primarily attributable to seasonal differences. The frequencies of Trichoderma viride, Volutella ciliata, Mucor sp. , and Umbelopsis ramanniana increased in summer, leading to a high degree of similarity of microfungal assemblages in different litter depths and litter species. Microfungal assemblages on Abies needles in spring and autumn and those on Betula leaves in spring were characterized by Trichoderma viride, V. ciliata, Thysanophora penicillioides, Trichoderma polysporum, and (or) Mortierella alpina. Microfungal assemblages on Betula leaves in autumn were characterized by the absence of these species and the occurrence of Cladosporium cladosporioides. The results were discussed with an emphasis on the role of microfungi in decomposition processes and the impact on fungi of predicted future increases in global temperature.
The Influence of Capital-Raising Activity on Intangibles Reporting: Evidence from Malaysia

Intangibles reporting within the annual report has increased in frequency and types over the last few years. Despite this growth, relatively little is known about the incentives or motivations behind such reporting practices. Further, their unregulated nature (besides items that fall under the intangible assets categories) means that management has great discretion when reporting. This study aims to determine whether financing decisions provide a strong incentive for firms to signal a greater variety of intangibles information, a higher level of disclosure and more intense information to the capital market. We focus on the top 100 Malaysian firms. Content analysis of annual reports is carried out to determine the variety, extent and intensity of intangibles disclosure. The findings, which support signalling theory, provide evidence that capital-raisers provide more intense information compared to their non-capital-raiser counterparts.
UPPER BOUND ON THE SATISFIABILITY THRESHOLD OF REGULAR RANDOM ( k , s )-SAT PROBLEM

We consider a strictly regular random (k, s)-SAT problem and propose a GSRR model for generating its instances. By applying the first moment method and the asymptotic approximation of the γth coefficient for generating function f(z), where λ and γ are growing at a fixed rate, we obtain a new upper bound 2 log 2−(k+1) log 2/2+ εk for this problem, which is below the best current known upper bound 2 log 2 + εk. Furthermore, it is also below the asymptotic bound of the uniform k-SAT problem, which is known as 2 log 2−(log 2+1)/2+ok(1) for large k. Thus, it illustrates that the strictly regular random (k, s)-SAT instances are computationally harder than the uniform one in general and it coincides with the experimental observations. Experiment results also indicate that the threshold for strictly regular random (k, s)-SAT problem is very close to our theoretical upper bound, and the regular random (k, s)-SAT instances generated by model GSRR are far more difficult to solve than the uniform one in each threshold point.
The Effects of Shariah Compliance Announcement towards Stock Price Changes in Malaysia

 Abstract—This paper seeks to investigate whether the announcement would affect the investors or funds managers' decision to buy, keep or sell stocks that are Shariah-compliant or non-Shariah compliant. The sample is based on the listed Shariah-compliant stocks (SCS) on 29 November 2013 which uses a revised methodology in screening stocks for Shariah-compliance. This has resulted a dramatic change to the number of Shariah compliant firms in Bursa Malaysia and for the first time it has caused a drastic removal of 158 previously Shariah compliant stocks from SAC's Shariah compliant list. Considering the revised screening methodology of the SC, this paper provides clear evidence that the inclusion of a stock in the Shariah-compliant list has a positive effect to the value of the stock while removal from the list negatively affects the price of the stock.
Customer flow: evaluating the long‐term impact of marketing on value creation

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to construct a system of indicators that will allow firms to evaluate the long‐term results of their marketing activities along the value chain.Design/methodology/approach – The paper integrates the concepts of network relationships, value chain management, and customer lifetime value (CLV). The authors use participative inquiry and case studies to validate and clarify the model.Findings – The authors develop the customer flow conceptual model and propose a sequence of actions to translate it into measures and indicators that will allow firms to understand their role in the creation of sustainable value. Using this model, the authors conduct comparative analyses of the acquisition and retention strategies of a multinational firm in the European and Russian markets. The results provide a crucial justification for new directions in future long‐term marketing activities.Research limitations/implications – The model is validated in two cases in different industries. Furt.
A Role for Phospholipase Cg-mediated Signaling in Tumor Cell Invasion 1

The invasive and metastatic transformation of cancers often results in death. However, the mechanisms that promote this transformation remain unclear. Two closely related receptors, the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and ErbB2, are overexpressed in a significant percentage of breast and prostate carcinomas, among others, with this up-regulated signaling correlating with tumor progression. Previous studies in our laboratory have demonstrated that an EGFR-phospholipase C (PLC)g-mediated motility-associated signaling pathway is rate-limiting for tumor cell invasion in vitro and in vivo in one model of prostate carcinoma. Therefore, we investigated whether this PLCg signaling pathway also was rate-limiting for invasion in other tumor cell lines and types and whether this EGFR activity is subsumed by the closely related ErbB2. We determined the effects of PLCg signal abrogation by pharmacological (U73122) and molecular (expression of the dominant-negative PLCz) means on thein vitro invasiveness of tumor cells. Inhibition of PLC g signaling concomitantly decreased invasiveness of de novo-occurring transgenic adenocarcinoma mouse prostate (TRAMP) lines and the human breast cancer cell lines MDA-468 and MDA-231; these lines present up-regulated EGFR signaling. Because the prostate and breast cancer lines usually present autocrine stimulatory loops involving EGFR, we also examined transgenic adenocarcinoma mouse prostate C1 and MDA-468 treated with the EGFRspecific kinase inhibitor PD153035 to determine whether invasiveness is dependent on EGFR signaling. PD153035 reduced invasiveness to levels similar to those seen with U73122, suggesting that the autocrine EGFR stimulatory loop is functioning to promote invasiveness. To determine whether this signaling pathway also promotes invasiveness of ErbB2overexpressing tumors, we examined the human breast carcinoma line MDA-361; again, U73122 inhibition of PLCg decreased invasiveness. In all situations, the inhibition of PLCg signaling did not decrease mitogenic signaling. Thus, the motility-associated PLCgsignaling pathway is a generalizable rate-limiting step for tumor cell progression.
Increased Expression of SLC2A9 Decreases Urate Excretion From the Kidney

Urate is the final metabolite of purine in humans. Renal urate handling is clinically important because under-reabsorption or underexcretion causes hypouricemia or hyperuricemia, respectively. We have identified a urate-anion exchanger, URAT1, localized at the apical side and a voltage-driven urate efflux transporter, URATv1, expressed at the basolateral side of the renal proximal tubules. URAT1 and URATv1 are vital to renal urate reabsorption because the experimental data have illustrated that functional loss of these transporter proteins affords hypouricemia. While mutations affording enhanced function via these transporter proteins on urate handling is unknown, we have constructed kidney-specific transgenic (Tg) mice for URAT1 or URATv1 to investigate this problem. In our study, each transgene was under the control of the mouse URAT1 promoter so that transgene expression was directed to the kidney. Plasma urate concentrations in URAT1 and URATv1 Tg mice were not significantly different from that in wild-type (WT) mice. Urate excretion in URAT1 Tg mice was similar to that in WT mice, while URATv1 Tg mice excreted more urate compared with WT. Our results suggest that hyperfunctioning URATv1 in the kidney can lead to increased urate reabsorption and may contribute to the development of hyperuricemia.
The sensor-controller network of the humanoid robot LOLA

This paper describes the control, communication and sensor network of the humanoid robot LOLA. A brief description of the complex decentralized electronic architecture will be given. A dedicated circuit board has been developed as decentralized computation device and sensor-controller interface. A detailed description of the hardware and software capabilities of the board is given. The implementation of the real-time communication network based on Sercos-III is described. Finally, a description of the control structure of LOLA is given.
Empirical Model Building and Analysis for Performance of Social Enterprises

Social enterprise has been increasingly recognized for as important economic and social contribution to modern society. Recently, many efforts and academic researches related to social enterprise are now emerging from practitioners and academics. This work focused on the key elements affecting the performance of social enterprises such as specifically social entrepreneurship, relationship-oriented organizational culture and government support policy. In this empirical model, two performance variables such as economic and social performance represent the dependent variables. And the size and age of the social enterprises are the controlled variables. By analyzing survey data of 107 social enterprises interesting and meaningful results are obtained. Social entrepreneurship influenced economic and social performance of social enterprises. And relationship-oriented organizational culture influenced economic and social performance of social enterprises. On the other hand, government support policy influenced economic performance of social enterprises, but did not influence its social performance. The developed empirical model of social entrepreneurship in this study showed that community-oriented organizational culture and government policy are important factors for the efficient and successful management of social enterprises in Korea. 요 약 사회적 기업은 최근 많은 관심을 받고 있으며 경제 부문에 있어 중요한 경제적 사회적 기여를 하고 있다. 많은 실제적 노력과 학문적 연구를 통하여 그 영역을 넓히고 있는 실정이다. 본 연구에서는 사회적 기업의 성과에 영 향을 미치는 주요 인자들을 설정하였으며 (사회적 기업가정신, 관계지향형 조직문화, 정부지원정책) 사회적 기업의 경 제적 성과와 사회적 성과 두가지 변수를 종속변수로, 그리고 사회적 기업의 규모 및 성숙도를 제어변수로 두었다. 107개의 사회적기업의 설문조사 데이터를 바탕으로 총 6개의 가설을 검증하여 실제 사회적 기업의 경제적 및 사회적 성과에 기여하는 변수들을 확인할 수 있었다. 본 연구를 통하여 지역밀착형 기업문화와 정부지원정책이 효율적이고 성공적인 사회적기업 성과 창출에 주요한 요소가 됨을 확인할 수 있었다.
The quality of care and the quality of measuring it.

Underlying the expectation that physicians, health plans, and other organizations will soon be competing on the basis of the quality as well as the cost of medical care1 is the fundamental assumption that we know what quality is and how to measure it, monitor it, and ensure it. This is a proposition devoutly to be wished, and one to which millions of dollars will be devoted. But how accurate is it? A large industry is developing standards of quality against which physicians and health care organizations will be judged. These standards, or practice guidelines, are based on existing controlled clinical .