Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The influence of continuous improvement and performance factors in total quality organization

Abstract This study examines performance measurement techniques as the basis for the development of reward and recognition mechanisms in Total Quality Management. Two phases of fieldwork were undertaken, an in-depth case study of the effectiveness of performance measurement in promoting continuous improvement, followed by the development of a model of optimal total quality based performance measurement. Successful performance measurement systems tend to develop empirically, ensuring congruence between all elements of the measurement system, and involving all enterprise operations in the measurement process. They should form an integral part of an organizational information management strategy, progressively integrating customers and supplier systems and impacting all aspects of organizational culture.
A Reassessment of the New Economics of the Minimum Wage Literature with Monthly Data from the Current Population Survey

We estimate the employment effects of federal minimum wage increases using monthly Current Population Survey (CPS) data from 1979 through 1997. We find that the empirical differences in the new minimum wage literature based on CPS data primarily can be traced to alternative methods of controlling for macroeconomic conditions. We argue that the macroeconomic controls commonly included in models where no employment impact is found are inappropriate. We consistently find a significant but modest negative relationship between minimum wage increases and teenage employment using alternative controls or allowing employer responses to the policy to occur with some delay.
Spectral Word Embedding with Negative Sampling

In this work, we investigate word embedding algorithms in the context of natural language processing. In particular, we examine the notion of ``negative examples'', the unobserved or insignificant word-context co-occurrences, in spectral methods. we provide a new formulation for the word embedding problem by proposing a new intuitive objective function that perfectly justifies the use of negative examples. In fact, our algorithm not only learns from the important word-context co-occurrences, but also it learns from the abundance of unobserved or insignificant co-occurrences to improve the distribution of words in the latent embedded space. We analyze the algorithm theoretically and provide an optimal solution for the problem using spectral analysis. We have trained various word embedding algorithms on articles of Wikipedia with 2.1 billion tokens and show that negative sampling can boost the quality of spectral methods. Our algorithm provides results as good as the state-of-the-art but in a much faster and efficient way.
Resource allocation and service design in local government: a case study

Purpose – Following the introduction of the New Zealand Local Government Amendment Acts (1996, 2002), some significant changes have taken place in resource allocation and service design of local government organizations. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of local government reforms on budgetary processes and service design in a New Zealand local government entity. Design/methodology/approach – The paper adopts a qualitative case study research involving semi-structured interviews with the key informants to understand the evolving role of resource allocation the study investigates the budgetary processes in a metropolitan city council. Findings – The traditional role of budget has changed to a more active and visible instrument in explaining the effectiveness and efficiency in the use and allocation of resources. Budgets have been given a central role in the management of local government finances. The reform process in New Zealand has enabled local government organizations to organize.
Orofacial signs and dental abnormalities in patients with Mulvihill–Smith syndrome

Background: Mulvihill–Smith syndrome is a rare sporadic condition that was first recognized in 1975. A total of 11 cases have been described in the literature. The aim of this study was to describe the orofacial signs and dental anomalies, their frequency, and the relationship between Mulvihill–Smith syndrome and other progeroid syndromes via a review of the literature. Methods: A systematic PubMed search was performed to retrieve articles published between 1975 and the present day that described patients affected by Mulvihill–Smith syndrome. The search identified 14 articles, and data on 11 patients were extracted from the selected articles. Results: A total of 7 patients (63.6%) affected by Mulvihill–Smith syndrome were described as having a typical “bird” face. Dental abnormalities, including irregular shape, enamel defects, hypodontia, and taurodontism, were described in 6 patients (54.5%). All patients (100%) had multiple pigmented nevi on the face and a lack or thinning of subcutaneous tissue around the neck and face. Three patients with Mulvihill–Smith syndrome exhibited early onset of tumors of the gastrointestinal tract, including the tongue. Conclusion: Mulvihill–Smith syndrome is a clinically complex disease that may be caused by a single gene mutation. Numerous different tissues of the body are affected. This analysis of the orofacial signs may help clinicians to diagnose this rare pathology.
The Malaysian market for audit services: ethnicity, multinational companies and auditor choice

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent to which ethnic association (i.e. Chinese and Bumiputra ownerships) and national issues (i.e. the presence of foreign corporations) influence the audit services market in Malaysia. Specifically, the paper aims to examine the effects of ethnicity and foreign ownership on choice of auditor.Design/methodology/approach – Two logit models are used; the first is to test on ethnic auditor (Chinese/non‐Chinese) choice while the second is related to the choice of quality‐differentiated auditor. The data is obtained from annual reports of the population of the Bursa Malaysia listed companies for both the Main Board and the Second Board for the periods 1993‐1995.Findings – The logit regressions confirm our prediction of ethnic networking and preferential treatment on the auditor selection process.Research limitations/implications – The first limitation lies on the auditor choice model where the model is developed from a demand perspective, assuming tha.
Diversity in the 18S SSU rRNA V4 hyper-variable region of Theileria spp. in Cape buffalo (Syncerus caffer) and cattle from southern Africa

SUMMARY Sequence variation within the 18S SSU rRNA V4 hyper-variable region can affect the accuracy of real-time hybridization probe-based diagnostics for the detection of Theileria spp. infections. This is relevant for assays that use non-specific primers, such as the real-time hybridization assay for T. parva (Sibeko et al. 2008). To assess the effect of sequence variation on this test, the Theileria 18S gene from 62 buffalo and 49 cattle samples was cloned and ∼1000 clones sequenced. Twenty-six genotypes were detected which included known and novel genotypes for the T. buffeli, T. mutans, T. taurotragi and T. velifera clades. A novel genotype related to T. sp. (sable) was also detected in 1 bovine sample. Theileria genotypic diversity was higher in buffalo compared to cattle. Polymorphism within the T. parva hyper-variable region was confirmed by aberrant real-time melting peaks and supported by sequencing of the S5 ribosomal gene. Analysis of the S5 gene suggests that this gene can be a marker for species differentiation. T. parva, T. sp. (buffalo) and T. sp. (bougasvlei) remain the only genotypes amplified by the primer set of the hybridization assay. Therefore, the 18S sequence diversity observed does not seem to affect the current real-time hybridization assay for T. parva.
Genetic divergence in soybean parents for backcrossing programs.

To evaluate superior hybrid combinations, biometric techniques based on the quantification of heterosis as in the diallel analyses and predictive procedures are commonly being used. Diallel analyses have the disadvantage of requiring the evaluation of each parent in all possible combinations, which may be impossible in the case of studies involving many parents. The predictive methods which dispense with the previous establishment of the hybrid combinations have attracted interest. These methods base upon the morphological, physiological and
Preventive effect of phytoglycoprotein (38 kDa) on expression of alpha-fetoprotein and matrix metalloproteinase-9 in diethylnitrosamine-treated ICR mice

Metastasis is one of the major causes of cancer-associated mortality. Aberrant expression of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) has been implicated in the metastasis of various cancer cells. The aim of this study was to investigate the inhibitory effect of a glycoprotein (38 kDa) isolated from Styrax japonica Siebold et al Zuccarini (SJSZ) on metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in diethylnitrosamine (DEN)-treated imprinting control region (ICR) mice. To study the chemopreventive effect of SJSZ glycoprotein on the metastasis of HCC, ICR mice were injected intraperitoneally with DEN (75 mg/kg) for 11 weeks. Subsequently, we evaluated nitric oxide (NO), alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), activator protein (AP)-1, cyclooxygenase (COX)-2, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9, and interleukin (IL)-6 using biochemical reaction, immunoblot analysis, and reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. Here, the results showed that SJSZ glycoprotein (10 mg/kg body weight) reduced the production of NO in DEN (75 mg/kg)-treated ICR mice. Also, it suppressed the activity of AFP, AP-1 (c-Jun and c-Fos), COX-2, iNOS, and MMP-9. Taken together, SJSZ glycoprotein inhibits the activity of MMP-9 as a metastasis factor.
Institutional development and financing decisions: evidence from a cross-regional study on Chinese listed firms

In this paper, we empirically investigate how differences in the development of legal and financial institutions across Chinese provinces and municipalities affect the financing decisions of Chinese listed firms. Our results indicate that a stronger regional enforcement of property rights reduces firms’ reliance on bank loans. Conversely, in regions with a larger government expropriation risk, firms raise more and shorter-term bank debt. Active regional bank lending positively impacts the debt ratio and the fraction of bank loans, but shortens loan maturities. The size of the local banking sector, the market capitalization as well as the liquidity of local stocks bear no relation with the capital structure. Overall, these relations do not depend upon the identity of the firm's controlling shareholder. Nonetheless, our results do suggest that state-controlled firms benefit from easier stock market access.
Trade Reform, Job Quality And Wages Of The Working Poor In Egypt: Evidence From Manufacturing Panel Data

This paper examines the impact of accelerating privatization and trade liberalization initiatives on wage and job quality outcomes of the working poor in the Egyptian manufacturing sector. Determinants of wage and job quality are estimated using panel and quantile regression methods and utilizing newly available labor survey data, merged with trade variables that capture decreased protection and increased competitive pressures over the period 1998-2006. Although the results indicate that trade reform in the form of lower tariffs and increased export promotion exert a small positive influence on the incomes of the poor, this might come at the expense of higher incidence of low quality jobs. Trade-related variables in general exert a minor influence on labor rewards for the poor in comparison to private sector employment and gender, which remain the main segmenting factors in the labor market. These findings underscore the importance of social protection and gender specific safety nets during the process of privatization. As trade liberalization progresses, policies that promote higher labor standard and „decent jobs. need also to be addressed.
SEX AND DEATH: CHD1Z ASSOCIATED WITH HIGH MORTALITY IN MOORHENS

Abstract Sex ratios in clutches of moorhens (Gallinula chloropus) in Britain were measured on 83 chicks using the sex-linked CHD1 gene (Chromo-helicase/ATPase-DNA binding protein 1). Among birds, the female is the heterogametic sex (Z and W chromosomes), and the male is homogametic (two copies of the Z chromosome). We report variation among the PCR-amplified fragments of the CHD1Z, and the death of nearly all heterozygous male chicks (92%). In contrast, survivorship among females and homozygote males was 54–60%. Mortality in male heterozygotes was significantly higher than that of male homozygotes (P < 0.001). Chick and egg biometrics were not significantly different between these males. The CHD1Z was unlikely to be directly responsible but may have been hitchhiked by the causal gene(s). The observations appear to follow a classic underdominance (heterozygote inferiority) pattern, but raise the paradoxical question of why one form of the Z chromosome has not been fixed, as is expected from evolutionary theory. We discuss possible explanations and include a survey of British populations based on skin specimens.
Calculating the individual probability of successful ocriplasmin treatment in eyes with VMT syndrome: a multivariable prediction model from the EXPORT study

Background/Aims To evaluate predictive factors for the treatment success of ocriplasmin and to use these factors to generate a multivariate model to calculate the individual probability of successful treatment. Methods Data were collected in a retrospective, multicentre cohort study. Patients with vitreomacular traction (VMT) syndrome without a full-thickness macular hole were included if they received an intravitreal injection (IVI) of ocriplasmin. Five factors (age, gender, lens status, presence of epiretinal membrane (ERM) formation and horizontal diameter of VMT) were assessed on their association with VMT resolution. A multivariable logistic regression model was employed to further analyse these factors and calculate the individual probability of successful treatment. Results 167 eyes of 167 patients were included. Univariate analysis revealed a significant correlation to VMT resolution for all analysed factors: age (years) (OR 0.9208; 95% CI 0.8845 to 0.9586; p<0.0001), gender (male) (OR 0.480; 95% CI 0.241 to 0.957; p=0.0371), lens status (phakic) (OR 2.042; 95% CI 1.054 to 3.958; p=0.0344), ERM formation (present) (OR 0.384; 95% CI 0.179 to 0.821; p=0.0136) and horizontal VMT diameter (µm) (OR 0.99812; 95% CI 0.99684 to 0.99941, p=0.0042). A significant multivariable logistic regression model was established with age and VMT diameter. Conclusion Known predictive factors for VMT resolution after ocriplasmin IVI were confirmed in our study. We were able to combine them into a formula, ultimately allowing the calculation of an individual probability of treatment success with ocriplasmin in patients with VMT syndrome without FTHM.
Pediatric primary anterior laryngotracheoplasty: Thyroid ala vs costal cartilage grafts.

OBJECTIVE To compare outcomes with the use of thyroid ala cartilage (TAC) and costal cartilage (CC) grafts in pediatric primary anterior laryngotracheoplasty (LTP). DESIGN Retrospective comparison study. SETTING Tertiary, academic children's hospital. PATIENTS Of 45 laryngotracheal operations performed between June 2001 and October 2008 for laryngotracheal stenosis, 29 were primary anterior LTPs. The procedures used either TAC (n = 24) or CC (n = 5) grafts and were planned as either single-stage (TAC group, 22 patients; CC group, 2 patients) or multistage (TAC group, 2 patients; CC group, 3 patients). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Operative time, length of intubation, graft-specific complications, need for additional airway procedures, and overall decannulation rate. RESULTS The mean (SD) operative times were 222 (56) minutes for TAC grafts and 363 (59) minutes for CC grafts (P = .005). For single-stage LTPs that were decannulated, the mean (range) length of intubation was 3.3 (1-11) days for TAC grafts (n = 18) and 3 (1-5) days for CC grafts (n = 2) (P = .90). Graft-specific complications occurred in 17% of TAC grafts (n = 4) and 20% of CC grafts (n = 1) (alpha > 0.05). Symptomatic stenosis requiring additional surgical intervention occurred in 43% of TAC grafts (n = 10) and 60% of CC grafts (n = 3) (alpha > 0.05). Patients underwent decannulation in 83% of TAC grafts (n = 19) and 80% of CC grafts (n = 4) (alpha > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS In primary anterior LTPs, TAC grafts require significantly less operative time than CC grafts (P = .005). There were no statistically significant differences in length of intubation, frequency of graft-specific complications, or decannulation rates between TAC and CC grafts in primary anterior LTPs.
Agent-based models and economic policy

Many of the factors responsible for the financial crisis (financial innovation ans securitization ;heterogeneity of agents, markets and regulatory framworks) are by and large overlooked by standard macroeconomic models which have failed to forecast the advent of the crisis and are unable to restore economic growth. agent based and computational models depart from the the representative agent paradigm, thereby introducing heterogeneity of agents' characteristics and behavior and allowing for markets that not clear. These models are better equipped to analyze the salient features of out-of equilibrium paths and provide novel insights on required economic policy during crises. This volume gathers contributions of leading scholars working on agent-based and computational models. It demonstrates how these models have reached the point where they can guide macro and micro economic policy.
Inventions Intended for Use in Agriculture and Related Industries: International Comparisons

Private firms invest substantial funds in research and development (R&D) to discover and develop inventions intended for use by crop and livestock farmers. ' Most of these inventions are granted patent protection, and many inventors obtain patent protection in more than one country for their inventions. Publicly supported agricultural R&D, including research done in the U.S. Department of Agriculture-State Agricultural Experiment Station (USDA-SAES) system, also produces inventions intended for use by farmers, but few of these inventions are granted patent protection.2 A recently completed research project conducted at Yale University provides procedures for assigning patented inventions to "Industries of Use" (IOUs) including agricultural production industries.3 Specifically, the project developed a "concordance" mapping inventions classified by International Patent Class (IPC) into industries classified by Standard Industrial Class (SIC). The concordance can be applied to international patent data sets reporting IPCs and thus provides estimates of inventions by IOU (or by Industries of Manufacture, IOM) by country of origin.4 This paper reports estimates of inventions intended for use in U.S. agricultural production sectors as well as in the input supply and agricultural service sectors. Data for Great Britain, France, and Germany are utilized for international comparisons and for estimates of technology flows between countries. Part 1 discusses the concordance methodol-
The Other Side of Housing Affordability: The User Cost of Housing in Australia

We calculate the ex post user cost of housing (UCH) in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney over the period 1988–2010. We find that the UCH varied considerably over time and, to a lesser extent, between categories of property owners. The UCH for an owner-occupier without debt is nearly always lower than for the corresponding property investor; for an owner-occupier with debt the corresponding investor tends to have a lower UCH. The 1999 capital gains tax (CGT) changes reduced the UCH for investors. Also beneficial to investors are the tax treatment of negative gearing and the CGT ‘discount’ of 50 per cent. These two benefits are of a similar order of magnitude. The main policy implication of our results is that in practice tax policy has far less effect on the UCH than interest rate policy.
Dysfunction of the Human Mirror Neuron System in Ideomotor Apraxia: Evidence from Mu Suppression

Abstract Stroke patients with ideomotor apraxia (IMA) have difficulties controlling voluntary motor actions, as clearly seen when asked to imitate simple gestures performed by the examiner. Despite extensive research, the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying failure to imitate gestures in IMA remain controversial. The aim of the current study was to explore the relationship between imitation failure in IMA and mirror neuron system (MNS) functioning. Mirror neurons were found to play a crucial role in movement imitation and in imitation-based motor learning. Their recruitment during movement observation and execution is signaled in EEG recordings by suppression of the lower (8–10 Hz) mu range. We examined the modulation of EEG in this range in stroke patients with left (n = 21) and right (n = 15) hemisphere damage during observation of video clips showing different manual movements. IMA severity was assessed by the DeRenzi standardized diagnostic test. Results showed that failure to imitate observed manual movements correlated with diminished mu suppression in patients with damage to the right inferior parietal lobule and in patients with damage to the right inferior frontal gyrus pars opercularis—areas where major components of the human MNS are assumed to reside. Voxel-based lesion symptom mapping revealed a significant impact on imitation capacity for the left inferior and superior parietal lobules and the left post central gyrus. Both left and right hemisphere damages were associated with imitation failure typical of IMA, yet a clear demonstration of relationship to the MNS was obtained only in the right hemisphere damage group. Suppression of the 8–10 Hz range was stronger in central compared with occipital sites, pointing to a dominant implication of mu rather than alpha rhythms. However, the suppression correlated with De Renzi's apraxia test scores not only in central but also in occipital sites, suggesting a multifactorial mechanism for IMA, with a possible impact for deranged visual attention (alpha suppression) beyond the effect of MNS damage (mu suppression).
“Fresh Blood” Innovation and the Dilemma of Personal Involvement

“Fresh blood”, executive succession by outsiders, is widely used to enhance innovation. While it is quite clear that a nominee's competence is crucial to innovation, the exact causality is only partially understood. An anthropological study of the behaviours of a complete outsider and an industry-insider suggests they followed different strategies for taking charge. The complete outsider had meagre local knowhow, and relevant competence in industry-problems, making self-exposure difficult, preventing active personal involvement, and led to a failure in building trust. Without trust, a vicious circle of mutual suspicions prevented openness and sincerity, crucial to successful use of intangible assets for innovation. A spiral of conflict and efforts at coercion on both sides emerged, causing conservatism. The other outsider with some local knowhow was unafraid of self-exposure, got involved, created mutual trust, and succeeded. Thus a lack of specialized locally-relevant competence could explain the failure of a gifted complete outsider to innovate, in a situation in which a less talented industry-insider proved a successful leader of innovation.