Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Risk Management in the Post‐SOX Era

Since the initial disclosure of accounting irregularities at Enron in late 2001, the landscape of audits for both domestic and foreign companies listed in the United States has undergone substantial change. These changes include the demise of Arthur Andersen and the enactment of the Sarbanes‐Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX). Together these changes have significantly increased the amount of work required to issue an audit report for US registrants and resulted in an unprecedented increase in the number of auditor resignations. I extend the audit literature by investigating how Big 4 audit firms make client continuance decisions in the post‐SOX era. My findings indicate that Big 4 audit firms have become more critical of the client continuance decision and this heightened concern and/or the additional audit requirements of SOX has resulted in the threshold for client continuance increasing post‐SOX. Interestingly, almost 70 percent of the Big 4 resignation clients move down in auditor class, and in the years immediately following the resignation, they continue to perform poorly.
Factors Influencing Intentions to Use Social Recommender Systems: A Social Exchange Perspective

This study employs the perspective of social exchange theory and seeks to understand users' intentions to use social recommender systems (SRS) through three psychological factors: trust, shared values, and reputation. We use structural equation modeling to analyze 221 valid questionnaires. The results show that trust has a direct positive influence on the intention to use SRS, followed by shared values, whereas reputation has an indirect influence on SRS use. We further discuss specific recommendations concerning these factors for developing SRS.
Managerial Discretion, Regulation, and Stock Insurer Ownership Structure

Variation in operating characteristics across ownership structures in the property-liability insurance industry could be caused by regulatory and tax differences as well as controlrelated incentives. We exploit variation in ownership structure within the population of common stock insurers to help solve this identification problem. Consistent with the managerial discretion hypothesis, we find that different ownership classes operate in lines that are statistically distinguishable. Because of our focus on stock firms, this variation is not attributable to taxes and regulation alone.
Optimal guidance law design based on extended quadratic performance index

A novel guidance law based on extended quadratic cost function is proposed to avoid losing performance index, which is commonly appeared when using cost function with quadratic form. Stochastic optimal guidance laws under target maneuver and target non-maneuver conditions are deducted and are validated by simulating in turn. The simulation results show that guidance trajectories based on extended quadratic performance index are smoother than those of proportional guidance la w and optimal guidance law based on quadratic performance index. Another advantage of this guidance law can be seen from the comparison of normal overloads of different guidance laws is that the proposed guidance law possesses a better process control and requires lower overload at the end of the attack.
Cadherins and Catenins in Clival Chordomas: Correlation of Expression With Tumor Aggressiveness

The local invasiveness and occasional rapid growth of chordomas, despite optimal treatment, highlight the need to develop ways to predict their biologic behavior. Alterations in adhesion proteins have been shown to participate in proliferation, invasiveness, and metastasis in epithelial tumors. We therefore analyzed the expression of E-cadherin, N-cadherin, as well as their cytosolic binding proteins α-catenin, β-catenin, and γ-catenin, in 51 paraffin archived and 17 cryopreserved chordoma specimens. In the majority of chordomas, E-cadherin and N-cadherin expression was inversely correlated, whereas β-catenin and γ-catenin expression was directly correlated. By multivariate analysis, N-cadherin up-regulation correlated with a diminished recurrence-free survival, and E-cadherin down-regulation strongly correlated with increased probabilities of death as determined by the Kaplan-Meier log-rank test. There was a 3.28-fold increased probability of having a tumor recurrence and a 10.98-fold increased probability of dying when, respectively, N-cadherin was up-regulated and E-cadherin down-regulated. These results suggest that changes in the relative expression of the cadherin-catenin complex reflect chordoma aggressiveness; and that decreased expression of E-cadherin and increased expression of N-cadherin may underlie the transition from a less to a more aggressive tumor phenotype.
Evolving Property Rights in Japan: Patterns and Logics of Change

Property rights in land are often regarded as among the most inflexible of the institutional structures that shape urban change, particularly when enshrined in a written constitution. This paper argues that the meaning and specification of property rights in the city are continually contested and in flux and that the evolving practice of city planning is a significant element that contributes to change. A better understanding of the mechanisms of such change is valuable for our understanding both of city planning and of property rights. A historical institutionalist analysis suggests that property rights display significant elements of path dependence, yet also show characteristic patterns and processes of incremental change over time. This analysis of evolving systems to regulate permissible development in Japanese cities during the period since the environmental crisis of the 1960s is revealing of the structured ways in which property rights are contested and change over time.
The perils of high-growth markets

The conventional wisdom that businesses should invest in growth markets is based upon the assumptions that, in the early phase of a growth market, share gains are easier and worth more, the experience curve will lead to advantage, price pressure will be low, needed access to the technology will result and future entries will be deterred. These assumptions are examined and six major types of growth market risks are discussed. Finally, conditions which should be present if an early entry into a growth market is attempted are identified.
Finding Line Segments by Stick Growing

A method is described for extracting lineal features from an image using extended local information to provide robustness and sensitivity. The method utilizes both gradient magnitude and direction information, and incorporates explicit lineal and end-stop terms. These terms are combined nonlinearly to produce an energy landscape in which local minima correspond to lineal features called sticks that can be represented as line segments. A hill climbing (stick-growing) process is used to find these minima. The method is compared to two others, and found to have improved gap-crossing characteristics. >
Histone Chaperones: Functions beyond Nucleosome Deposition

Histones, the structural unit of chromatin, must be assembled/dissembled to preserve or change chromatin organization in accordance to cellular needs. Initially, function of histone chaperones was thought to be only “histone carriers/vehicles”, but now with accumulating evidences they are known to be the key actors of histone metabolism. With this outburst of knowledge, histone chaperones are now placed at the center of gene regulation, having roles to play in DNA replication, repair and transcription. This review will focus on the current knowledge we have about the role of histone chaperones in regulating cellular processes and their relation to disease. In addition, we discuss the potential of histone chaperones as a therapeutic target.
Can Fund Managers Select Outperforming REITS? Examining Fund Holdings and Trades

Despite six empirical studies published since 2000 designed to assess fund managers’ REIT selection ability, their skill remains in question. Unlike previous studies, we examine fund holdings and trades of REITs to answer this question. This allows us to account for portfolio rebalancing that alters REIT-characteristic weights of fund portfolios. All REITs held by funds at each report date are matched to benchmark portfolios of REITs that share similar characteristics. Results show that real estate mutual fund managers, after controlling for size, property type shifting, and momentum, generated significant positive alpha with their securities selection ability as predicted by Grossman and Stiglitz (1980). To understand the sources of such ability, we examine whether fund managers that follow certain trading strategies outperform relative to other managers. The potential investment strategies we examine are related to geographic concentration, public and private real estate valuation, income and appreciation styles, and leverage of the underlying REITs. Exploring these investment strategies, we find that fund managers that focus on geographically concentrated REITs generate higher returns to investors, especially in the later years, consistent with the findings of Capozza and Seguin (1999).
Preliminary analysis of multi-channel recordings for the development of a high-level Cortical Neural Prosthesis

The implementation of an effective approach to restore the link between the nervous system and artificial devices in disabled subjects is crucial to increase the acceptability and usability of these systems. Among the different possible solutions, the development of invasive cortical neural prostheses (ICNPs) is very appealing because of the possibility of extracting information on the user's intention from cortical activity and of delivering a sensory feedback by stimulating the somato-sensory cortex. In the recent past, the efforts of several research groups have been focused on the extraction of low-level commands to directly control the trajectories of the robotic devices by processing cortical signals. However, even if very interesting results have been achieved using this approach, the possibility of extracting more high-level information is becoming to be addressed for its potential advantages. In this paper, the preliminary results of the experiments on the development of a "high-level" ICNP are presented. In particular, a statistical approach is used to characterize the response of the neurons to different experimental conditions and to try to identify the most interesting channels for the development of the ICNP. Moreover, preliminary experiments on pattern recognition using a fuzzy-evolutionary classifier are also presented. Future works will go in the direction of testing extensively the soft-computing classifier in order to discriminate among different robot movements by processing the cortical signals
Direct Evidence for the Ongoing Brain Activation by Enhanced Dynorphinergic System in the Spinal Cord under Inflammatory Noxious Stimuli

Background:Dynorphin A in the spinal cord is considered to contribute to nociceptive stimuli. However, it has not yet been determined whether activation of the spinal dynorphinergic system under nociceptive stimuli plays a role in direct acceleration of the ascending nociceptive pathway. In this study, the authors investigated the role of spinal dynorphinergic transmission in ongoing brain activation under noxious stimuli in mice. Methods:The changes in prodynorphin messenger RNA expression and dynorphin A (1–17)-like immunoreactivity in the mouse spinal cord were determined after the intraplantar injection of complete Freund's adjuvant in mice. The signal intensity in different brain regions after the intraplantar injection of complete Freund's adjuvant or intrathecal injection of dynorphin A (1–17) was measured by a pharmacological functional magnetic resonance imaging analysis. Results:Complete Freund's adjuvant injection produced pain-associated behaviors and induced a dramatic increase in signal intensity in the mouse cingulate cortex, somatosensory cortex, insular cortex, and thalamic nuclei. These effects were not seen in prodynorphin knockout mice. Prodynorphin messenger RNA expression and dynorphin A (1–17)-like immunoreactivity on the ipsilateral side of the spinal cord were markedly increased in complete Freund's adjuvant-injected mice. Furthermore, intrathecal injection of dynorphin A (1–17) at relatively high doses caused pain-associated behaviors and a remarkable increase in the activities of the cingulate cortex, somatosensory cortex, insular cortex, and medial and lateral thalamic nuclei in mice. Conclusions:These findings indicate that spinally released dynorphin A (1–17) by noxious stimuli leads to the direct activation of ascending pain transmission.
Real exchange rates: evidence from black markets using fractionally integrated semiparametric techniques

The behaviour of the real exchange rates (relative to the US dollar) is examined in this article using monthly data obtained from the black markets for foreign exchange of eight Asian developing countries. Using the quasi maximum likelihood estimation procedure of Robinson (Annals of Statistics, 23, 1630–61, 1995), the results indicate that the order of integration of all currencies except the Indian and the Pakistani rupees are close but below 1, implying that mean reversion occurs in the long run.
A basis theorem for the affine oriented Brauer category and its cyclotomic quotients

The affine oriented Brauer category is a monoidal category obtained from the oriented Brauer category (= the free symmetric monoidal category generated by a single object and its dual) by adjoining a polynomial generator subject to appropriate relations. In this article, we prove a basis theorem for the morphism spaces in this category, as well as for all of its cyclotomic quotients.
Smooth Landing or Crash? Model-Based Scenarios of Global Current Account Rebalancing

This paper re-examines the implications, risks, and attendant policies surrounding global rebalancing of current accounts through the lens of a dynamic, multi-region model of the global economy. In the baseline scenario, world macroeconomic imbalances of the early 2000s can be attributed to a combination of six related but distinct tendencies: (i)expansionary U.S. fiscal policy, (ii) declining rate of U.S. private savings, (iii) increased foreign demand for U.S. assets, particularly in Asia, (iv) strong productivity growth in emerging Asia, (v) lagging productivity growth in Japan and the euro area, and (vi) gaining export competitiveness in emerging Asia. The baseline projects stabilizing U.S. public and foreign debt (albeit at higher levels) and a gradual depreciation of the dollar, allowing the U.S. external deficit to gradually move to a sustainable level. An alternative scenario, involving a sudden portfolio reshuffling in the rest of the world, would result in higher U.S. real interest rates, a significantly weaker dollar, with harmful effects on U.S. (and possibly global) growth. More flexible exchange rates in emerging Asia can help reduce variability in both regional output and inflation. Other simulations consider the effects of U.S. fiscal adjustment, as well as growth-enhancing structural reforms in Europe and Japan.
Calling the Greek Referendum on the Nose with Google Trends

In a bold and risky political move the Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras called for a referendum on June 27 2015 quitting ongoing negotiations with Greece's creditors in Brussels. The referendum framed as a yes or no question asked the Greek voters to decide whether or not they approve or reject the latest take-it-or-leave-it proposal for "program continuation" by Greece's creditors. What followed was a chaotic week leading to the referendum with intense campaigning by the two camps. Due to tense debates and increasing polarisation it became increasingly impossible to rely on traditional polling. Even the first exit polls (performed by phone on Sunday evening) could only see a marginal lead for one or the other vote at different times. Quite possibly people were jumping party lines and were unwilling to reveal their preferences. Using Google Trends I could tap into voters' true and unbiased revealed preferences and nowcast hourly what the ratio of the No vote to the Yes vote is and called an over 60% No vote well ahead of the closing of the voting urns. In this paper I document this nowcasting exercise.
Fair Trade, Free Trade and the State

In autumn 2007, I was contacted by a staff member of a new policy journal on the Americas and asked to submit an article on fair trade for an upcoming issue on corporate social responsibility. I was surprised by this request, given that my own work draws heavily on critical political economy and the journal is jointly run by the Americas Society and the Council of the Americas, the latter being a ‘premier international business organization’ whose corporate members share an explicit devotion to promoting free trade and ‘open markets’. I expressed some hesitation to the staff member, who assured me that fair trade issues were of particular interest to the journal’s readership. She then added that the editors wanted me to develop an article that was ‘forward-looking’ and went beyond the basic issues of fair trade to advance a broader policy point. I replied that this would be an excellent idea, as I could write a piece arguing for the need for national and international bodies to adopt fair trade as a matter of state policy, which would entail developing strong international regulations for commodity prices and social, labour and environmental standards. After a short pause, the staff member replied ‘you can’t say that, that’s ideological’. This telling anecdote is demonstrative of a growing attitude among corporate actors and pro-corporate advocates who in the last few years have shown increasing enthusiasm for fair trade, which they view as compatible with the current free trade agenda of international financial institutions and powerful Northern states. This view is at odds not just with my own understanding of fair trade, but, I would argue, with the traditional vision of the majority of fair trade organisations which have, in moral and political terms, generally understood fair trade as a direct challenge to free trade and the overall neoliberal policy package, which includes severe cuts to public spending and the reduction or elimination of capital controls, protectionist barriers, and market regulations (EFTA 2001, FLO 2001, IFAT 2001, Oxfam International 2002). Yet the growing enthusiasm of free trade supporters for fair trade is not without basis. In fact, in this commentary I will argue that the current, non-statist orientation of the fair trade network, whose growth has been driven by voluntarist commitments by private corporations, is much more New Political Economy, Vol. 15, No. 3, September 2010
Tridimensional structure of the Golgi apparatus in type A ganglion cells of the rat.

The three-dimensional structure of the whole Golgi apparatus and of its components in type A ganglion cells was examined in thin and thick sections by low- and high-voltage electron microscopy. At low magnification, in 10-micron-thick sections of osmicated cells, the Golgi apparatus formed a broad, continuous perinuclear network. At higher magnification and in thinner sections of cells impregnated with uranyl acetate-lead-copper citrate or postfixed in K-ferrocyanide-reduced osmium, the Golgi apparatus appeared as a heterogeneous structure in which saccular regions characterized by stacks of saccules alternated with intersaccular regions made up of branching membranous tubules which bridged the saccules of adjacent stacks. The saccular regions consisted of the following superimposed elements: a cis-osmiophilic element made up of anastomosing tubules; two or three saccules negative for the phosphatases tested (i.e., nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphatase = NADPase, thiamine pyrophosphatase = TPPase, and cytidine monophosphatase = CMPase); two saccules showing TPPase activity; and one to three trans-sacculotubular elements showing a "peeling-off" configuration, one of which showed CMPase activity. The saccules (phosphatase-negative) on the cis-side of the Golgi stacks showed, in addition to small circular pores, larger perforations in register. The cavities thus formed in the stacks of saccules, called "wells," always associated with small 80-nm vesicles, had a pan shape with the mouth directed toward the cis-face and the bottom closed by a TPPase-positive saccule. In face views of the saccules, the smallest of these perforations showed either a crescent shape, due to the presence of a bud on one side of the perforation, or a circular shape with a single small 80-nm vesicle in the center which was occasionally attached to the saccule by a filiform stalk. Such smaller cavities were considered as the precursors of the larger perforations and eventually of the wells. The small 80-nm vesicles seen in the small cavities or in the wells appeared to form in situ and possibly migrate toward the cisternae of endoplasmic reticulum seen proximal to the cis-face of the stack of saccules. Small 80-nm vesicles were also numerous in the intersaccular regions, along the lateral- and trans-aspects of the Golgi stacks, while larger, 150-to 300-nm vesicles, coated and uncoated, were seen only on the trans-face of the Golgi stacks in proximity to the trans-sacculotubular elements which appear to "peel off" from the Golgi stacks.
The complete mitochondrial genome of the spotted steed, Hemibarbus maculatus (Teleostei, Cypriniformes)

The complete mitogenome sequence of the spotted steed (Hemibarbus maculatus) was determined using long PCR reactions. The genome is 16,611 bp long and consists of 13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNA genes, 22 tRNA genes, and a control region. The gene order and composition of H. maculatus was similar to that of most other vertebrates. The base composition of H-strand in descending order is A (29.16%), C (27.41%), T (25.93%), and G (17.50%), with an AT content of 55.09%. The Kimura two-parameter distances between mitogenome sequences of H. maculatus and Hemibarbus labeo, Hemibarbus barbus, Hemibarbus longirostris, Hemibarbus mylodon were 2.09%, 2.35%, 12.77%, and 13.92%, respectively. The phylogenetic relationships among the five Hemibarbus species based on the whole mitogenome sequence data were (((H. barbus, H. labeo), H. maculatus), (H. longirostris, H. mylodon)).
Comparison of Distributed and Federated Filtering in Multi-Coordinate Systems

Introduce two important equations used in Kalman filter algorithm with coordinates-converting errors. Analyze the characteristic of distributed Kalman filtering algorithm with coordinates converting uncertainties in multi-coordinate sensor systems. Then, an improved federated filtering algorithm is introduced in the same systems. In the new algorithm, local processor can get global optimal estimation by the transformation of measurement equation and coordinate-converting equation. Accordingly, the Kalman filtering algorithm is transformed. Based on these mathematic methods, we only need coordinates converting once to obtain global estimation, which are always needed twice in the distributed algorithms. So, the filtering accuracy is improved. Simulation results also show that the federated algorithm has a better performance in improving the estimation accuracy