Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Role of Risk Management and Governance in Determining Audit Demand

Most prior research into audit fees has been based on a theoretical model which treats audit fees as the by-product of a production function ignoring potential demand forces that may drive the level of the audit fee. Inspired by prior 'anomalous' results, we take a different perspective by focusing on demand factors that may affect the level of the audit fee. Using data collected from a sample of listed companies in Belgium, we consider both disclosures about risk and risk management and actual decisions about corporate governance to examine whether audit fees are higher when these demand forces exist. In general, we expect that external auditing will increase in situations where there are multiple stakeholders with individual risk profiles who can shift some of the cost of monitoring to other stakeholders. Consistent with our theory and expectations, our results indicate that audit fees are higher when a company has an audit committee, discloses a relatively high level of financial risk management, and has a larger proportion of independent Board Members. Audit fees are lower when a company discloses a relatively high level of compliance risk management. The latter result indicates that controls are only complementary as long as they are voluntary, as mandated controls act as substitutes for non-mandated controls. Copyright 2006 The Authors Journal compilation (c) 2006 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
F18, a Novel Small-Molecule Nonnucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitor, Inhibits HIV-1 Replication Using Distinct Binding Motifs as Demonstrated by Resistance Selection and Docking Analysis

ABSTRACT Nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) are one of the key components of antiretroviral therapy drug regimen against human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) replication. We previously described a newly synthesized small molecule, 10-chloromethyl-11-demethyl-12-oxo-calanolide A (F18), a (+)-calanolide A analog, as a novel anti-HIV-1 NNRTI (H. Xue et al., J. Med. Chem. 53:1397–1401, 2010). Here, we further investigated its antiviral range, drug resistance profile, and underlying mechanism of action. F18 consistently displayed potent activity against primary HIV-1 isolates, including various subtypes of group M, circulating recombinant form (CRF) 01_AE, and laboratory-adapted drug-resistant viruses. Moreover, F18 displayed distinct profiles against 17 NNRTI-resistant pseudoviruses, with an excellent potency especially against one of the most prevalent strains with the Y181C mutation (50% effective concentration, 1.0 nM), which was in stark contrast to the extensively used NNRTIs nevirapine and efavirenz. Moreover, we induced F18-resistant viruses by in vitro serial passages and found that the mutation L100I appeared to be the dominant contributor to F18 resistance, further suggesting a binding motif different from that of nevirapine and efavirenz. F18 was nonantagonistic when used in combination with other antiretrovirals against both wild-type and drug-resistant viruses in infected peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Interestingly, F18 displayed a highly synergistic antiviral effect with nevirapine against nevirapine-resistant virus (Y181C). Furthermore, in silico docking analysis suggested that F18 may bind to the HIV-1 reverse transcriptase differently from other NNRTIs. This study presents F18 as a new potential drug for clinical use and also presents a new mechanism-based design for future NNRTI.
Perceived Success of Entrepreneurs in the Vaal Region of South Africa with Special Reference to Fashion Entrepreneurs

The aim of this study is to investigate the perceived success of fashion entrepreneurs in the Vaal region of South Africa. With the advent of democracy in South Africa since 1994 and the ascendency to political power of the African National Congress (ANC), many transformations in the socio-political and economic spheres have taken place with a view to addressing the imbalances of the past inherited from the segregationist regime of the National Party (NP). Furthermore, the transformation agenda in the country has been directed at addressing issues of quality of life for all, equity in terms of education as well as access to health services, poverty eradication and unemployment. Consequently, with the intention of eradicating unemployment, a number of initiatives have been implemented. The research design for the study was a quantitative method of investigation, using a descriptive exploratory questionnaire to find information on the success of fashion entrepreneurs. The study found that most of the fashion entrepreneurs gained their sewing skills at universities (30.4 percent) while others learnt from their parents (21.6 percent). Some of the fashion entrepreneurs started their businesses only after completing a fashion course. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014. v5n1p225
Monetary Policy Shocks and Security Market Responses

An old and unanswered question is: how does monetary policy work? This paper contributes to a growing recent literature that tries to quantify the first step of the process. These studies use daily data to estimate the response of security prices-bond yields and equity returns - to exogenous monetary policy surprises. We extend the literature in three directions: (1) theory: we specify a general factor model in which security prices respond to multiple sources of systematic risk - monetary policy surprises and other market wide information shocks - and idiosyncratic risk. (2) Empirical: we use all of the daily data while other studies use a small sub-sample of less than 10% of the data. And (3) econometric: we estimate a vector model and impose the over-identifying restrictions. Our empirical results show that efficiently estimating a more general model leads to economically important differences. Our results solve a puzzle and highlight an important neglected short-run channel of monetary policy. Cochrane and Piazzesi (2002), the latest of many, found that long maturity bond yields increase in response to a surprise tightening in monetary policy - a result they properly label a puzzle. Our results eliminate the puzzle. The yield curve response to a monetary surprise displays the classical textbook pattern - short maturity yields rise and long maturity yields do nothing. Common information shocks have a level effect on the yield curve - all yields increase in response to a positive shock. We also find that the equity market, which is ignored in most studies and textbooks, is quantitatively the most important channel for monetary policy in the short run. The wealth effect from a monetary surprise in the equity market dwarfs the wealth effect in debt markets.
The effect of a land titling programme on households’ access to credit

This paper assesses the effects of property titling on households’ access to and use of credit by focusing on household responses to an exogenous change in their formal ownership status. We isolate the credit effect on legal ownership by comparing households from communities in Osasco, Brazil. Our statistical estimates suggest that land titling increases credit use, decreases reliance on credit borrowed from relatives, and increases credit borrowed from commercial banks. We also find that treated households increased their consumption of time-saving durable goods, which explains an observed reallocation of time among household members, with adults working more and children less.
Assessing sexual risk behaviour with the Timeline Followback (TLFB) approach: continued development and psychometric evaluation with psychiatric outpatients

This paper describes a series of 4 studies, designed to provide evidence of the feasibility, reliability, and validity of the Timeline Followback (TLFB) method when used to assess sexual risk behaviour with psychiatric outpatients. This population was selected because patients often have difficulty completing assessments of sexual risk behaviours due to deficits in attention, memory, and communication skills. All 4 studies demonstrated the feasibility of the HIV-risk TLFB. Study 1 also demonstrated that it can be completed in 20 min, and scored in less than 10 min. Qualitative data revealed that both patients and assessors found the features of the TLFB helpful. Study 2 provided evidence that the HIV-risk TLFB can be reliably scored by interviewers whereas Study 3 demonstrated that this measure can be completed reliably by patients and that TLFB of sexual behaviour were consistent over time. Study 4 provided initial evidence for the validity of the HIV-risk TLFB but also suggested that the TLFB may yield frequency estimates that are slightly less than those obtained with single-item measures. We conclude that the TLFB is feasible, reliable, and valid, even in a population known to have difficulty with self-report measures.
Robust stabilization for a class of nonlinear systems

This paper deals with globally asymptotical stabilization for nonlinear systems with structural uncertainty. Based on weak robust control Lyapunov functions (rclfs), a sufficient and necessary condition for the function to be a weak rclf is presented. Based on this condition, simply sufficient condition for the robustly globally asymptotical stabilization is deduced as well as an almost smooth state feedback. Next, it is shown that the globally asymptotical stabilization control is inverse optimal control associated with a meaningful cost function. Moreover, the inverse optimal control implies the optimal control whenever the level sets of the rclf match those of the optimal value function. The simulation shows the effectiveness of the method.
Macro-Sensitive Portfolio Strategies How We Define Macroeconomic Risk

Global economic conditions have seen a weak recovery since 2008, with major economies experiencing sub-par growth rates relative to long-term trend growth. As a result, investors are interested in designing portfolio strategies that explicitly recognize macroeconomic risk. The design of macrosensitive portfolio strategies relies on how we define macroeconomic risk and measure the relationship between asset prices and macroeconomic risk. In this paper — the first in a series that addresses these issues — we argue that macroeconomic risk is the change in asset value due to persistent shocks to real economic growth. This definition underscores the role of long horizons in macroeconomic risk and the principal issue facing investors: how should asset allocation respond to large macroeconomic shocks, given that their consequences are likely to be resolved over long time periods? We advocate going back to the basics of asset pricing and analyzing the impact of macro shocks on both asset cash flows and discount factors.
Constitutive activation of the fucAO operon and silencing of the divergently transcribed fucPIK operon by an IS5 element in Escherichia coli mutants selected for growth on L-1,2-propanediol

L-1,2-Propanediol is an irretrievable end product of L-fucose fermentation by Escherichia coli. Selection for increased aerobic growth rate on propanediol results in the escalation of basal synthesis of the NAD+-linked oxidoreductase encoded by fucO, a member of the fuc regulon for the utilization of L-fucose. In general, when fucO becomes constitutively expressed, two other simultaneous changes occur: the fucA gene encoding fuculose-1-phosphate aldolase becomes constitutively expressed and the fucPIK operon encoding fucose permease, fucose isomerase, and fuculose kinase becomes noninducible. In the present study, we show that fucO and fucA form an operon which is divergently transcribed from the adjacent fucPIK operon. In propanediol-positive and fucose-negative mutants the cis-controlling region shared by the operons fucAO and fucPIK is lengthened by 1.2 kilobases. DNA hybridization identified the insertion element to be IS5. This element, always oriented in the same direction with the left end (the BglII end) proximal to fucA, apparently causes constitutive expression of fucAO and noninducibility of fucPIK. The DNA of the fucAO operon and a part of the adjacent fucP was sequenced.
Womanism, Spirituality, and Self-Health Management Behaviors of African American Older Women

Many older African American women perceive spirituality as an important resource in facilitating the self-management process of their chronic disease conditions. Research designs, which are congruent with theoretical frameworks of African American women, are important. However, many researchers remain unfamiliar with womanist thought or are unsure of how that framework can be used to understand specific aspects of self-management practices. The purpose of this exploratory study is to explicate a womanist epistemological framework that can support the development of self-management intervention designs aimed at assisting older African American women in health-promoting behaviors. Data from a sample of twenty-one African American women were collected from semistructured interviews and analyzed for common themes through narrative analysis. Four themes emerged from the linkage of womanism, spirituality, and self-management. Spiritual- and womanist-based strategies may provide a foundation for innovative self-management programs that target this older African American female population. Healthcare workers and public health professionals can assist in the co-creation of programs that focus on the collective personal responsibility of health promotion practices.
Power Optimization of Device-to-Device Communication Underlaying Cellular Communication

We address resource sharing of the cellular network and a device-to-device (D2D) underlay communication assuming that the cellular network has control over the transmit power and the radio resources of D2D links. We show that by proper power control, the interference between two services can be coordinated to benefit the overall performance. In addition, we consider a scenario with prioritized cellular communication and an upper limit on the maximum transmission rate of all links. We derive the optimum power allocation for the considered resource sharing modes. The results show that cellular service can be effectively guaranteed while having a comparable sum rate with a none power control case in most of the cell area.
Candidate gene analysis of the human metabotropic glutamate receptor type 4 (GRM4) in patients with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy

Hereditary factors play a major role in the genetically complex etiology of juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME). Linkage studies in families of JME probands suggest a susceptibility locus (EJM1) for idiopathic generalized epilepsy (IGE) in the chromosomal region 6p21.3 near the HLA region. The gene encoding the metabotropic glutamate receptor type 4 (GRM4) has been localized within the EJM1‐region and represents a high‐ranking candidate gene. Therefore, we have sequenced the coding regions and regulatory GRM4 sequences in 20 IGE probands who were derived from families of JME probands providing positive linkage evidence to the HLA‐DQ locus. Our mutation analysis detected three synonymous exonic single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP; exon‐7: c.1455T > C, exon‐8: c.2002A > G, exon‐10: c.2733C > T), one SNP in the 3′‐untranslated region (c.2890A > G), and two intronic SNPs (intron‐3: IVS3 + 2732A > G, intron‐7: IVS7 + 39C > T). None of the identified SNPs was likely to affect receptor function or gene expression. The population‐based association study did not show significant differences in the allele and genotype frequencies of the common c.1455T > C SNP between 144 German JME probands and 144 healthy population controls (P > 0.84). Likewise, the family‐based transmission disequilibrium test did not indicate a preferential transmission of exon‐7 SNP alleles in 31 informative parent–child transmissions (P = 0.86). Our results provide no evidence that genetic variation of the GRM4 gene confers susceptibility to JME‐related IGE syndromes. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Eficiência das sociedades cooperativas e de capital na indústria de laticínios

The objective of this work is to analyze the efficiency of cooperatives and non cooperatives in the Brazilian dairy industry. In the study, the conceptual bases of efficiency in the two different organizational forms are interpreted based on agency and property rights theories. The efficiency was measured by using Data Envelopment Analysis in a sample of 107 fluid milk processors. The results support the hypothesis that the cooperatives are less efficient than the non cooperatives in productive efficiency. The paper argues about the importance of promoting differentiated politics for the improvement of the efficiency in the dairy industry.
Understanding re-expatriation intentions among overseas returnees – an emerging economy perspective

This study investigates the reasons why returnees in an emerging economy, Vietnam, who have studied and/or worked abroad, and who have returned to their home country, intend to re-expatriate on their own initiative. We combine pull–push theory with the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) to explain the re-expatriation intentions of returnees. Using path analysis on a sample of 290 Vietnamese returnees, we find three pull–push factors associated with home and host countries that have a significant impact on returnees’ intention to re-expatriate: (1) dissatisfaction with career and life in their home country, (2) reverse culture shock and (3) expected career, family and quality-of-life outcomes from re-expatriation. For the TPB, we find that attitudes toward re-expatriation and subjective norms affect returnees’ intention to re-expatriate. Further, these factors either fully or partially mediate the role of pull–push factors on intention to re-expatriate. The study adds to the limited number of empirical studies on self-initiated re-expatriation and brain circulation of returnees in emerging economies.
Chemomechanical caries removal in children: an operator's and pediatric patients' responses.

BACKGROUND This study investigated an operator's and pediatric patients' responses to chemo-mechanical caries removal (CMCR) versus the traditional method (TM) of caries removal using a handpiece and a round bur when treating dentinal-depth occlusal lesions with minimal enamel access in primary molars. METHODS Data were collected from 50 children at baseline and before, during and after caries removal using CMCR or TM. The subjects in the CMCR group were on average younger than the subjects in the TM group and had more deep lesions. RESULTS The operator rated CMCR as needing more clinical and technical effort and more total effort than TM. He was less satisfied with CMCR than with TM. Subjects in the CMCR group perceived the time needed for treatment as significantly longer than did the subjects in the TM group. Fear of the dentist decreased in subjects in the TM group from before to after the operative appointment, while it increased in subjects in the CMCR group. CONCLUSIONS The authors found no direct advantage in using CMCR over using TM. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS CMCR cannot be recommended as an alternative to TM when treating dentinal depth occlusal lesions with minimal access in primary molars.
OptoZIF Drive: a 3D printed implant and assembly tool package for neural recording and optical stimulation in freely moving mice

Objective. Behavioral neuroscience studies in freely moving rodents require small, light-weight implants to facilitate neural recording and stimulation. Our goal was to develop an integrated package of 3D printed parts and assembly aids for labs to rapidly fabricate, with minimal training, an implant that combines individually positionable microelectrodes, an optical fiber, zero insertion force (ZIF-clip) headstage connection, and secondary recording electrodes, e.g. for electromyography (EMG). Approach. Starting from previous implant designs that position recording electrodes using a control screw, we developed an implant where the main drive body, protective shell, and non-metal components of the microdrives are 3D printed in parallel. We compared alternative shapes and orientations of circuit boards for electrode connection to the headstage, in terms of their size, weight, and ease of wire insertion. We iteratively refined assembly methods, and integrated additional assembly aids into the 3D printed casing. Main results. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the OptoZIF Drive by performing real time optogenetic feedback in behaving mice. A novel feature of the OptoZIF Drive is its vertical circuit board, which facilities direct ZIF-clip connection. This feature requires angled insertion of an optical fiber that still can exit the drive from the center of a ring of recording electrodes. We designed an innovative 2-part protective shell that can be installed during the implant surgery to facilitate making additional connections to the circuit board. We use this feature to show that facial EMG in mice can be used as a control signal to lock stimulation to the animal’s motion, with stable EMG signal over several months. To decrease assembly time, reduce assembly errors, and improve repeatability, we fabricate assembly aids including a drive holder, a drill guide, an implant fixture for microelectode ‘pinning’, and a gold plating fixture. Significance. The expanding capability of optogenetic tools motivates continuing development of small optoelectric devices for stimulation and recording in freely moving mice. The OptoZIF Drive is the first to natively support ZIF-clip connection to recording hardware, which further supports a decrease in implant cross-section. The integrated 3D printed package of drive components and assembly tools facilities implant construction. The easy interfacing and installation of auxiliary electrodes makes the OptoZIF Drive especially attractive for real time feedback stimulation experiments.
Domestic portfolio choice amid political instability

Political instability causes jump-risk volatility in domestic risky asset returns. The effects of outcome risk on portfolio decisions are inherently linked to their impact on the conditional moments of the asset return. Although rare events are stochastic and move discontinuously, major events often trigger abrupt changes in stock prices and even the portfolio choice in the equity markets. It has been determined that domestic portfolio choice can benefit from the estimated parameters of the diffusion-jump process more than from the traditional lognormal model. An alternative solution, other than the closed-form solution of the past, is also presented in this letter.