Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
What is the role of commercialisation and reputation in product innovation success?

Abstract This paper analyses the role of commercialisation strategy and product reputation in the relationship between innovation and the market performance. This is a particularly interesting question for high tech companies. The technical complexity of their products can make it difficult for the consumer to evaluate their degree of quality and innovation. Because of this, companies need to focus effort on the innovation diffusion process. This study uses Partial Least Squares to demonstrate that the commercialisation and reputation of innovative product intervene in the relationship between innovation and product success in the market. They have a mediating effect that explains the positive impact of the former on the latter. In light of the results, these mediating variables may be considered complementary tools for achieving innovation success into the market.
Elevated carbon dioxide and irrigation effects on water stable aggregates in a Sorghum ® eld : a possible role for arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi

While soil biota and processes are becoming increasingly appreciated as important parameters for consideration in global change studies, the fundamental characteristic of soil structure is a neglected area of research. In a sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] ®eld experiment in which CO2 [supplied using free-air CO2 enrichment (FACE) technology] was crossed factorially with an irrigation treatment, soil aggregate (1±2 mm) water stability increased in response to elevated CO2. Aggregate water stability was increased by 40% and 20% in response to CO2, at ample and limited water supply treatments, respectively. Soil hyphal lengths of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) increased strongly (with a threefold increase in the dry treatment) in response to CO2, and the concentrations of one fraction (easily extractable glomalin, EEG) of the AMF-produced protein glomalin were also increased. Two fractions of glomalin, and AMF hyphal lengths were all positively correlated with soil aggregate water stability. The present results further support the hypothesis that AMF can become important in global change scenarios. Although in this ®eld study a causal relationship between hyphal length, glomalin and aggregate stability cannot be demonstrated, the present data do suggest that AMF could mediate changes in soil structure under elevated CO2. This could be of great importance in agricultural systems threatened by erosional soil loss.
Allelic Imbalance and Loss of Heterozygosity at 5q11 in Human Prostate Cancer: A Novel Region for a Tumor Suppressor Gene

Abstract Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) and allelic imbalance (AI) are widely recognized ways of localizing tumor suppressor genes. We have demonstrated structural alterations of chromosome 5 in 12 human prostate cancer cell lines. After mapping the breakpoints involved in translocations and deletions in chromosome 5, the 5q11 region was found to be the most consistent breakpoint. In this study, we further analyzed the 5q11 region in several prostate cancer cell lines as well as tumor samples from prostate cancer patients. Five different polymorphic sequence tagged sites (STSs) (D5S430, D5S822, D5S664, D5S645, and D5S2068) from this region were evaluated for LOH in order to discern the specific breakpoint in chromosome 5. A breakpoint was shown between the markers D5S2068 and D5S407 in the PC-3M human prostate cancer cell line. Allelotyping of prostate tumor samples revealed LOH in 6 (65%) of 9 tumor samples in at least one of the markers tested. In addition, in three cell lines (DU-145, MDAPCa2b and C4-2) microsatellite instability (MSI), shown as gain of alleles, was observed, suggesting RER+ phenotype. These results implicated 5q11 and specifically the region surrounding markers D5S2068 as a region of interest for locating a tumor suppressor gene in human prostate cancer.
An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Anti‐money Laundering and Anti‐terrorism Financing Legislation: Perceptions of Bank Compliance Officers in Malaysia

The present study sought to ascertain the perceptions of anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) compliance officers of banks in Malaysia in order to develop an understanding of how well they understand the risks and how well they have implemented the obligations imposed by the regime. We examine these issues for the first time in the literature via the theory of crying wolf. A structured questionnaire survey of compliance officers of banks in Malaysia was followed by focus group discussions held at the Malaysian Institute of Bankers. We expect that the industry would consider suitable steps to improve the compliance culture, particularly in Islamic banks, and the regulators would watch such banks more diligently. Banks considered avoiding penalties, improving brand image and improving customer perceptions to be the rationale for implementing the AML/CFT legislation. Most conventional bank officers considered their organisations’ compliance culture to be high or very high, while this was not found to be the case in Islamic banks.
Inflação e Retorno do Mercado Acionário em Países Desenvolvidos e Emergentes

Different explanations have been suggested to the puzzling negative relationship observed between real stock returns and inflation. The most popular ones are the Tax-Effects Hypothesis (Feldstein, 1980), the Proxy Hypothesis (Fama, 1981), and the Reverse Causality Hypothesis (Geske & Roll, 1983). The causality chain between the variables is crucial to sort out which hypothesis best fits the data. This study extends this line of research to a sample of seven Latin American countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela). A Vector Autoregression (VAR) analysis is performed in order to investigate the causality relationships among real stock returns, real interest rates, real activity, and inflation. The same methodology is also conducted for the Group of Seven (Germany, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States), and their results are then compared. My findings indicate that the differences between industrial and developing countries are not as sharp as one could initially presume. Also, the results do not in general support previous findings for the United States even among other industrial countries, which suggests that the North American evidence cannot be generalized worldwide.
The introduction of International Accounting Standards in Europe: Implications for international convergence

Abstract This paper describes several implementation effects associated with the mandated adoption of international financial reporting standards promulgated by the International Accounting Standards Board in the European Union, including a possible increased demand for detailed implementation guidance and for a single European securities regulator. The paper also discusses the mandated adoption as a research setting for considering the relative influences of standards versus incentives as determinants of financial reporting outcomes, and describes two standard setting challenges that may become more pronounced as a result of the mandated adoption.
Assessing ICT-enabled Innovation for Governance and Policy Making

Keywords: Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) ; Innovation ; Governance ; Policy-making ; Evaluation ; Modelling ; Public Value ; Foresight ; Network science ; Information Society These Ecole polytechnique federale de Lausanne EPFL, n° 5497 (2012)Programme doctoral Management de la technologieCollege du management de la technologieInstitut de management de la technologie et entrepreneuriatJury: Ph. Wieser (president), C. Feijoo-Gonzales, Y.P.F. Punie, C. Tucci Public defense: 2012-11-19 Reference doi:10.5075/epfl-thesis-5497Print copy in library catalog Record created on 2012-10-04, modified on 2016-08-09
Eccentric calf muscle training in athletic patients with Achilles tendinopathy

Purpose. To evaluate the effects of eccentric strengthening exercises (ESE) in athletic patients with Achilles tendinopathy. Methods. Forty-five athletic patients (29 men, average age 26 years ± 12.8, range 18 – 42; 16 women, average age 28 years ± 13.1, range 20 – 46; average height: 173 ± 16.8, range 158 – 191; average weight 70.8 kg ± 15.3, range 51.4 – 100.5) with a clinical diagnosis of unilateral tendinopathy of the main body of the Achilles tendon completed the VISA-A questionnaire at first attendance and at their subsequent visits. The patients underwent a graded progressive eccentric calf strengthening exercises programme for 12 weeks. Results. The mean pre-management VISA-A scores of 36 (SD 23.8; 95% CI: 29 – 46) improved to 52 (SD 27.5; 95% CI: 41.3 – 59.8) at the latest follow up (p = 0.001). Twenty seven of the 45 patients responded to the eccentric exercises. Of the 18 patients who did not improve with eccentric exercises, 5 (mean age: 33 years) improved with two peritendinous aprotinin and local anaesthetic injections. 10 of the 18 patients (9 men, mean age 35 years; 1 woman aged 40 years) who did not improve with eccentric exercises and aprotinin injections proceeded to have surgery. The remaining three patients (3 women, mean age 59.6 years) of the 18 non-responders to eccentric exercises and aprotinin injections declined surgical intervention. Conclusions. ESE in athletic patients provide comparable clinical outcome compared to our previous results in non-athletic patients. ESE are a viable option for the management of AT in athletes, but, in our hands, only around 60% of our athletic patients benefited from an intensive, heavy load eccentric heel drop exercise regimen alone. If ESE fail to improve the symptoms, aprotinin and local anaesthetic injections should be considered. Surgery is indicated in recalcitrant cases after 3 to 6 months of non operative management.
Excess Volatility and Closed-End Funds

If investors are rational, the variance of closed-end mutual fund returns should equal the variance of the underlying securities in their portfolios. In fact, this paper shows that the average closed-end fund's monthly return is 64 percent more volatile than its assets. Unlike variance-bounds tests, this facilitates an excess volatility test that does not rely on strong assumptions about discount rates or dividend streams. Although largely idiosyncratic, 15 percent of the average fund's excess risk is explained by market risk, small-firm risk, and risk that affects other closed-end funds. Copyright 1997 by American Economic Association.
Professor Foley and Classical Policy Analysis

(a) the structure of classical theories and the existence of an analytical ‘core’ in them; (b) whether in the classical approach to distribution and prices the conception of capital is subject to the same critique raised against the notion of a ‘quantity of capital’ in neoclassical theories: this will require some clarification of the critique itself; (c) the implications of the classical approach for policy analysis.
Path planning using positive invariant sets

We present an algorithm for steering the output of a linear system from a feasible initial condition to a desired target position, while satisfying input constraints and nonconvex output constraints. The system input is generated by a collection of local linear state-feedback controllers. The path-planning algorithm selects the appropriate local controller using a graph search, where the nodes of the graph are the local controllers and the edges of the graph indicate when it is possible to transition from one local controller to another without violating input or output constraints. We present two methods for computing the local controllers. The first uses a fixed-gain controller and scales its positive invariant set to satisfy the input and output constraints. We provide a linear program for determining the scale-factor and a condition for when the linear program has a closed-form solution. The second method designs the local controllers using a semi-definite program that maximizes the volume of the positive invariant set that satisfies state and input constraints. We demonstrate our path-planning algorithm on docking of a spacecraft. The semi-definite programming based control design has better performance but requires more computation.
Trends in Average Living Children at the Time of Terminal Contraception: A Time Series Analysis Over 27 Years Using ARIMA (p, d, q) Nonseasonal Model

Background: India's National Family Welfare Programme is dominated by sterilization, particularly tubectomy. Sterilization, being a terminal method of contraception, decides the final number of children for that couple. Many studies have shown the declining trend in the average number of living children at the time of sterilization over a short period of time. So this study was planned to do time series analysis of the average children at the time of terminal contraception, to do forecasting till 2020 for the same and to compare the rates of change in various subgroups of the population. Materials and Methods: Data was preprocessed in MS Access 2007 by creating and running SQL queries. After testing stationarity of every series with augmented Dickey-Fuller test, time series analysis and forecasting was done using best-fit Box-Jenkins ARIMA (p, d, q) nonseasonal model. To compare the rates of change of average children in various subgroups, at sterilization, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was applied. Results: Forecasting showed that the replacement level of 2.1 total fertility rate (TFR) will be achieved in 2018 for couples opting for sterilization. The same will be achieved in 2020, 2016, 2018, and 2019 for rural area, urban area, Hindu couples, and Buddhist couples, respectively. It will not be achieved till 2020 in Muslim couples. Conclusion: Every stratum of population showed the declining trend. The decline for male children and in rural area was significantly faster than the decline for female children and in urban area, respectively. The decline was not significantly different in Hindu, Muslim, and Buddhist couples.
In Pursuit of Institutional Legitimation: Structuration of an Offshoring Decision

This article applies structuration theory and institutional theory to analyze the organizational dynamics behind a financial services company’s decision to initiate information technology services offshoring. The analysis finds the decision to have been an emergent one, crystallizing from interactions between upper management’s actions and an evolving structural context. Further, their actions were driven more by a legitimation-oriented desire to adhere to various institutional norms rather than purely rational considerations. These findings of isomorphism question the notion that offshoring decisions result from straightforward objectives such as cost savings or quality enhancement. Particularly under uncertainty, they may be subtly shaped by institutional influences in antecedent contexts. The implication is that the planning, execution, and evaluation of offshored projects must take into account the dynamic imperatives embedded in these contexts, and not be anchored solely to static expressions of short-term or long-term objectives.
Public Choice: An Introduction

The 1968 Nobel Prize for Economics was awarded to one of the founders of public choice theory, James Buchanan, yet many people have only the vaguest idea what public choice is. The book offers and unusually clear and accessible introduction to an important subject. McLean examines the workings of public choice from two related perspectives - collective action and the aggregation of individual preferences into social consensus. The book highlights the paradox at the heart of collective action- that self-interest in the public domain is frequently counterproductive. National defense and clean air are things we all benefit from - they are public goods - but we tend to resist contributing to them. The first part of this book examines how government choice in such areas is shaped, and by whom- political entrepreneurs, bureaucrats, interest groups and ordinary citizens. McLean uses the idea of a public market in which politicians sell what they hope voters will buy, and further considers how and when people (and animals) co-operate to produce public goods even without government coercion. In the second part of the book the author examines the consequences of combining individual preferences, arguing that there is no straightforward way of adding them up to form a 'social ordering' and assesing the implications of this both for electoral reform and for the status of 'the will of the people'.
Dynamic Aspects of Earnings Mobility

This paper proposes an econometric methodology to deal with life cycle earnings and mobility among discrete earnings classes. First, we use panel data on male log earnings to estimate an earnings function with permanent and serially correlated transitory components due to both measured and unmeasured variables. Assuming that the error components are normally distributed, we develop statements for the probability that an individual's earnings will fall into a particular but arbitrary time sequence of poverty states. Using these statements, we illustrate the implications of our earnings model for poverty dynamics and compare our approach to Markov chain models of income mobility.
Le revenu de solidarité active : principes de construction et effets attendus

La création du revenu de solidarité active (RSA), 20 ans après la mise en place du revenu minimum d'insertion (RMI), vise à corriger plusieurs faiblesses du système de prestations sociales : manque de cohérence et de lisibilité de l'ensemble des transferts et des prélèvements, faiblesse des gains au retour à l'emploi, insuffisance des outils traditionnels de politique sociale ou salariale face au phénomène des « travailleurs pauvres ». Cette nouvelle prestation a ainsi vocation à lutter contre la pauvreté laborieuse et accroître l'incitation à l'activité.
Africa's Oil Abundance and External Competitiveness: Do Institutions Matter?

This paper examines the structural competitiveness of oil-rich economies in sub-Saharan Africa relative to other major oil-exporting developing countries, and investigates reasons for systematic differences in the non-oil export performance across these economies. The analysis reveals that oil-rich Africa lags behind other oil-exporters in terms of diversification, global market share and the overall investment climate. The poor performance of their nonoil sector can be largely attributed to weak infrastructure and institutional quality. The results also show that institutional quality is a significant determinant of the extent to which oil abundance affects the competitiveness of the non-oil sector; thereby explaining the divergent experiences of oil-rich economies across the world. This implies that oil wealth does not necessarily weaken the non-oil tradable sector; countries may mitigate the impact of Dutch disease and benefit from oil booms if revenues are used prudently to reduce oil dependence.
The Analgesic Efficacy of Subarachnoid Morphine in Comparison with Ultrasound-Guided Transversus Abdominis Plane Block After Cesarean Delivery: A Randomized Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND: Ultrasound-guided transversus abdominis plane block is an effective method of providing pain relief after cesarean delivery. Neuraxial morphine is currently the “gold standard” treatment for pain after cesarean delivery. In this study we tested the hypothesis that subarachnoid morphine would provide more prolonged and superior analgesia than would transversus abdominis plane block in patients undergoing elective cesarean delivery. METHODS: In this prospective, double-blind study, 57 patients were randomly assigned to receive either subarachnoid morphine (group SAM; n = 28) or transversus abdominis plane block (group TAP; n = 29). Patients received bupivacaine spinal anesthesia combined with morphine 0.2 mg in group SAM and received saline in group TAP. At the end of surgery, bilateral transversus abdominis plane block was performed using saline in group SAM or using bupivacaine 0.375% plus epinephrine 5 &mgr;g/mL in group TAP with 20 mL on each side. Postoperative analgesia for the first 24 hours consisted of scheduled rectal diclofenac and IV paracetamol; breakthrough pain was treated with IV tramadol. For the next 24 hours, scheduled rectal diclofenac was given; oral paracetamol and IV tramadol were administered upon patient request. Patients were assessed postoperatively in the postanesthesia care unit (time 0 hours) and at 2, 4, 6, 12, 24, 36, and 48 hours. The primary outcome measure was the time to first analgesic request. RESULTS: Median (range) time to first analgesic request was longer in group SAM than in group TAP [8 (2–36) hours versus 4 (0.5 to 29) hours (P = 0.005)]. Median (range) number of tramadol doses received between 0 and 12 hours was 0 (0–1) in group SAM versus 0 (0–2) in group TAP (P = 0.03). Postoperative visceral pain scores at rest and on movement during first the 4 hours were lower in group SAM than in group TAP, but were not different at any other time points. The incidence of moderate to severe nausea was higher in group SAM than in group TAP [13/28 (46%) versus 5/29 (17%) (P = 0.02)]. More patients developed pruritus requiring treatment in group SAM than in group TAP [(11/28 (39%) versus none (0%) (P < 0.001)]. CONCLUSION: As part of a multimodal analgesic regimen, subarachnoid morphine provided superior analgesia when compared with ultrasound-guided transversus abdominis plane block after cesarean delivery, yet at the cost of increased side effects.
3D Structure Prediction of TAS2R38 Bitter Receptors Bound to Agonists Phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) and 6-n-Propylthiouracil (PROP)

The G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) TAS2R38 is a bitter taste receptor that can respond to bitter compounds such as phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) and 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP). This receptor was chosen because its four haplotypes (based on three residue site polymorphism) hTAS2R38PAV, hTAS2R38AVI, hTAS2R38AAI, and hTAS2R38PVV are known to have dramatically different responses to PTC and PROP. We aimed to identify the protein-ligand interaction features that determine whether the bitter taste signal from this receptor is sent to the cortex. To do this we predicted the 3D structures of the TAS2R38 bitter taste receptor using our new BiHelix and SuperBiHelix Monte Carlo methods (No experimental determinations of the 3D structure have been reported for any taste receptors.). We find that residue 262 (2nd position in the polymorphism) is involved in the interhelical hydrogen bond network stabilizing the GPCR structure in tasters (hTAS2R38PAV, hTAS2R38AAI, and hTAS2R38PVV), while it is not in the nontaster (hTAS2R38AVI). This suggests that the hydrogen bond interactions between TM3 and TM6 or between TM5 and TM6 may play a role in activating this GPCR. To further validate these structures, we used the DarwinDock method to predict the binding sites and 3D structures for PTC and PROP bound to hTAS2R38PAV, hTAS2R38AVI, hTAS2R38AAI, and hTAS2R38PVV, respectively. Our results show that PTC and PROP can form H-bonds with the backbone of residue 262 in the tasters (hTAS2R38PAV, hTAS2R38AAI, and hTAS2R38PVV) but not in the nontaster (hTAS2R38AVI). Thus it appears that the hydrogen bond interaction between TM3 and TM6 may activate the receptor to pass the ligand binding signal to intracellular processes and that the H-bond between agonists and residue 262 in tasters is involved in the bitter tasting. This is in agreement with experimental observations, providing validation of the predicted ligand-protein complexes and also a potential activation mechanism for the TAS2R38 receptor.