Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Corporate Governance and Control in Cross-national Organizations based on Ethical Relativity

Corporate social responsibility is now a common term these days. Previous researches claims that there is a positive correlation between economic interests and ethical objectives in business operation in a long term. However, multinational enterprises (MNEs) face more difficult challenges of strategic management since they operate among different markets which have different ethical senses. This paper focuses on MNEs and their new system for global business ethics. First of all, the authors have built conceptual frameworks of the strategic ethics management. Secondly, the authors have attempts to show strategic approaches to the ethics management. These approaches allow managers to assess values of the goals financially based upon potential cash flows. Therefore managers can actually estimate cost-benefits of both business operations and business ethics accurately.
Sensorless Field Orientation Control of Induction Motor Using Reduced Order Observer

The composite method of the flux observer and reduced order speed observer and its design procedure for a nonlinear dynamic system is presented. The traditional approach with flux and speed observer and derive six order nonlinear model that describes motor model in field oriented coordinates. The model takes into the error in flux estimation. For flux regulation traditional PI controllers are used. For speed regulation, model is simplified by assuming that the flux regulation is relatively fast and high gain PI controller to regulate qaxis current to its command. This outcome is in a third order nonlinear model in which the speed and two flux estimation errors are state variables, the q-axis current is a control input and speed estimate provided by observer is a measured output. This nonlinear model is a main contribution to paper. The design of controller is takes place via linearization. The analysis concede an important role by the steady state product of flux frequency and q-axis current in determining control property of system.
A MULTILEVEL ANT-COLONY OPTIMIZATION ALGORITHM FOR MESH PARTITIONING

In this paper we present a multilevel ant-colony optimization algo- rithm, which is a relatively new metaheuristic technique for solving combinato- rial optimization problems. We apply this algorithm to the mesh partitioning problem, which is an important problem with extensive applications in vari- ous real world engineering problems. The algorithm outperforms the classical k-METIS and Chaco algorithms. In addition, it is comparable even to the combined evolutionary/multilevel scheme used in JOSTLE algorithm.
Does Use of a Hospital-wide Readmission Measure Versus Condition-specific Readmission Measures Make a Difference for Hospital Profiling and Payment Penalties?

Background:The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) use public reporting and payment penalties as incentives for hospitals to reduce readmission rates. In contrast to the current condition-specific readmission measures, CMS recently developed an all-condition, 30-day all-cause hospital-wide readmission measure (HWR) to provide a more comprehensive view of hospital performance. Objectives:We examined whether assessment of hospital performance and payment penalties depends on the readmission measure used. Research Design:We used inpatient data to examine readmissions for patients discharged from VA acute-care hospitals from Fiscal Years 2007–2010. We calculated risk-standardized 30-day readmission rates for 3 condition-specific measures (heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, and pneumonia) and the HWR measure, and examined agreement between the HWR measure and each of the condition-specific measures on hospital performance. We also assessed the effect of using different readmission measures on hospitals’ payment penalties. Results:We found poor agreement between the condition-specific measures and the HWR measure on those hospitals identified as low or high performers (eg, among those hospitals classified as poor performers by the heart failure readmission measure, only 28.6% were similarly classified by the HWR measure). We also found differences in whether a hospital would experience payment penalties. The HWR measure penalized only 60% of those hospitals that would have received penalties based on at least 1 of the condition-specific measures. Conclusions:The condition-specific measures and the HWR measure provide a different picture of hospital performance. Future research is needed to determine which measure aligns best with CMS’s overall goals to reduce hospital readmissions and improve quality.
Are Socially Responsible Investors Different from Conventional Investors? A Comparison Across Six Countries

This paper provides an empirical analysis of the differences between socially responsible investors (SRI) and conventional investors in six countries. We show that differences are seen more often in investor attitudes and behaviour rather than in other criteria such as demographics. SRI investors appear to care more about social criteria rather than financial and shareholder interests and are more likely to punish firms for poor social performance as consumers as well as in their investment choices. All investors believe that good corporate social performance leads to good financial performance but conventional investors do not appear to follow this through in their portfolios. Market context also appears to be important.
Reconciling induced-gravity inflation in supergravity with the Planck 2013 & BICEP2 results

We generalize the embedding of induced-gravity inflation beyond the no-scale Supergravity presented in ref. [1] employing two gauge singlet chiral superfields, a superpotential uniquely determined by applying a continuous R and a discrete ℤn symmetries, and a logarithmic Kähler potential including all the allowed terms up to fourth order in powers of the various fields. We show that, increasing slightly the prefactor (-3) encountered in the adopted Kähler potential, an efficient enhancement of the resulting tensor-to-scalar ratio can be achieved rendering the predictions of the model consistent with the recent BICEP2 results, even with subplanckian excursions of the original inflaton field. The remaining inflationary observables can become compatible with the data by mildly tuning the coefficient involved in the fourth order term of the Kähler potential which mixes the inflaton with the accompanying non-inflaton field. The inflaton mass is predicted to be close to 1014 GeV.
The relationship between community nutritionists’ use of policy, systems and environmental strategies to prevent obesity and its determinants depends on networking

Abstract Objective To apply the Theory of Planned Behaviour to examine the relationship between the constructs of background factors and beliefs towards using policy, systems and environmental (PSE) strategies and reported use of PSE strategies to prevent obesity by a group of professional nutrition educators. Design Cross-sectional study using self-reported survey. Setting Cooperative Extension in New York, USA. Subjects Nutrition educators (n 58); survey response rate 100 %. Results Nutrition educators’ reported use of PSE strategies to prevent obesity were positively associated with background factors of their community networking and number of staff they managed, their belief of other people’s expectations of them to make PSE changes and the belief that their communities were ready to use PSE strategies; and negatively associated with their belief that individual-level factors contributed to obesity. The relationships among these variables were complicated and their use of PSE strategies occurred only when they utilized their professional networks at a moderately high level (above mean of 5·3 on a scale of 1–7), given that their community was also ready to use PSE strategies. Conclusions Nutrition educators’ use of PSE strategies depends on several internal and external factors. Community networking needs to be emphasized as one of the most significant factors contributing to nutrition educators’ work in this area. Organizational and community support should be in place in order to facilitate nutrition educators’ effective use of PSE strategies.
Regulation of Trek1 expression in nasal mucosa with allergic rhinitis by specific immunotherapy

Epithelial barrier dysfunction is involved in the pathogenesis of allergic disorders, such as nasal allergy. TWIK‐related K(+) 1 (Trek1) potassium channels are required in the maintenance of the epithelial barrier function. This study aims to investigate the role of antigen‐specific immunotherapy (SIT) in the regulation of Trek1 expression in the nasal mucosa. In this study, patients with nasal allergy were treated with SIT and/or Clostridium butyricum. The expression of Trek1 and histone demethylase 1 (HDAC1) in the nasal epithelia was assessed by real‐time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting. Serum cytokines were assessed by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay. The results showed that Trek1 and HDAC1 were detected in the nasal epithelia. Trek1 was lower, whereas HDAC1 was higher in patients with allergic rhinitis as compared with healthy controls. Trek1‐null RPMI2650 monolayers showed a markedly compromised epithelial barrier function. Treatment with SIT significantly increased the Trek1 levels in the nasal epithelia of allergic rhinitis patients that were further improved in conjunction of SIT and administration of probiotic C. butyricum. In conclusion, nasal epithelia express Trek1 that can be suppressed by allergic response. SIT can restore the expression of Trek1 in the nasal epithelia and can be further improved by conjunction with administration of C. butyricum. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Redox- and Calmodulin-dependent S-Nitrosylation of the KCNQ1 Channel*

Nitric oxide (NO) is a gaseous signal mediator showing numerous important biological effects. NO has been shown in many instances to exhibit its action via the protein S-nitrosylation mechanism, in which binding of NO to Cys residues regulate protein function independently of activation of soluble guanylate cyclase. The direct link between protein S-nitrosylation and functional modulation, however, has been demonstrated only in limited examples. Furthermore, although most proteins have more than one Cys residue, the mechanism by which a certain Cys becomes a specific target residue of S-nitrosylation is poorly understood. We have previously reported that NO regulates currents through the cardiac slowly activating delayed rectifier potassium channel (IKs) irrespective of soluble guanylate cyclase activation. Here we demonstrate using a biotin-switch assay that NO induced S-nitrosylation of the α-subunit of the IKs channel, KCNQ1, at Cys445 in the C terminus. A redox motif flanking Cys445 and the interaction of KCNQ1 with calmodulin are required for preferential S-nitrosylation of Cys445. A patch clamp experiment shows that S-nitrosylation of Cys445 modulates the KCNQ1/KCNE1 channel function. Our data provide a molecular basis of NO-mediated regulation of the IKs channel. This novel regulatory mechanism of the IKs channel may play a role in previously demonstrated NO-mediated phenomenon in cardiac electrophysiology, including shortening in action potential duration in response to intracellular Ca2+ or sex hormones.
The Impact of a Single Currency on the Loan Pricing Behaviors for Commercial Banks

The purposes of this paper are to develop loan-pricing models with operational cots of commercial banks under risks theoretically and empirically and to show their applications in investigating the impacts of EMU on the loan pricing behaviors of French banks. Our empirical result shows that the variables of operational costs, like the variables of risks, are the important components of loan price and have significant impact on loan prices. Ignorance of operational loan costs will seriously bias the analysis of loan pricing. Our results also show that the pricing behaviors of commercial banks are changed significantly after EMU. While the impact on loan price from costs of intermediation decreased, the impact from risks of intermediation increased after the adoption of single currency. In addition to the internal change in pricing behaviors by banks themselves, the external decreases in loan demand and the elimination of exchange rate risk may also explain why French banks price loan rate lower after EMU.
Functional MRI Correlations in Women Diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder Exposed to Self-Harm Imagery

Purpose Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a multidimensional impulsive personality condition leading to emotional dysregulation and self-harm (1). Previous fMRI studies have found abnormal prefrontal and amygdala activation in BPD subjects compared to normal subjects when presented with aversive or autobiographical stimuli (1-3). However, most BPD patients have a history of psychological drug treatment, and to date no fMRI studies have accounted for possible drug-induced brain activation in analyses between BPD and control groups. The purpose of this work was to eliminate the effects of psychological drug treatment in the neurological study of BPD by incorporating a medicated-control group into an fMRI study of BPD.
Value creation through relationship closeness

Globalization and technological innovation are creating dynamic networks or chains of interconnected players, often known as value delivery networks or supply chains, in which a firm, whether manufacturing or service, holds the key to creating and delivering value in the form of offerings to the customers. This idea of value creation and exchange is the foundation stone of relationship marketing and it is considered successful when closeness is said to have been established in the relationship which subsequently leads toward the achievement of objectives. In order to study and understand the creation of value through relationship closeness in a value delivery network particularly at the backward end, a literature review is conducted. A framework is further developed with the help of Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM), which signifies the antecedents and consequences of relationship closeness between a focal firm and its suppliers. The paper utilizes this methodology to understand the aforesaid phenomenon with the help of identified variables in a structured manner. In the final section, we discuss the theoretical and managerial implications of our study.
Physical activity coaching of patients with rheumatoid arthritis in everyday practice: a long-term follow-up.

OBJECTIVES To investigate the long-term effects on perceived general health, disease activity, pain, activity limitation and cognitive behavioural factors of a one-year coaching programme performed in ordinary physical therapy practice to promote the adoption of health-enhancing physical activity in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS A total of 228 patients with early RA, from 10 rheumatology clinics in Sweden, were randomly assigned to an intervention group (IG; n = 94) or a control group (CG; n = 134). The IG was coached by physical therapists during the first year to adopt health-enhancing levels of physical activity (30 minutes/day, moderately intensive, ≥ 4 days/week). No coaching was given during the subsequent year between post-intervention and follow-up. Follow-up assessment consisted of a postal questionnaire on physical activity and of visual analogue scales for ratings of general health perception and pain. The Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index (HAQ) and the Disease Activity Score in 28 joints (DAS 28) were collected at regular medical check-ups. RESULTS Sixty-five (69%) participants in the IG and 92 (69%) in the CG completed the entire study period by filling in the follow-up questionnaire on physical activity two years after baseline. The intervention seemed to lack any significant influence on long-term outcome. However, different patterns of change in physical activity behaviour were observed in the two groups. CONCLUSIONS No long-term improvement in perceived general health or other outcomes were found in the follow-up. This may partly be because the intervention lacked several important behavioural elements for physical activity maintenance.
Computing ripple effect for software maintenance

Recent software maintenance models have included impact analysis and accounting for ripple effect as one of their stages. This paper describes and explains the reformulation of Yau and Collofello's ripple-effect algorithm and its validity within the software-maintenance process. Completely automatic computation of ripple effect has until now proved troublesome; we show how our approximation algorithm helps to overcome this. Our Ripple Effect and Stability Tool (REST) which uses our approximated algorithm to compute ripple effect for C programs, is described. Eleven C programs are used in an initial investigation into whether our approximated algorithm can replace Yau and Collofello's original algorithm for the purpose of automatic computation of ripple effect. The Pearson correlation coefficient for the two versions of the algorithm across the eleven programs shows a high correlation.
A typical behavior of some data compression schemes

Wyner and Ziv (IEEE Trans. vol.IT-35, p.1250-8 of 1989) have proved that the typical length of a repeated subword found within the first n positions of a stationary sequence is (1/h) log n in probability where h is the entropy of the alphabet. They used this finding to obtain insights into certain universal data compression schemes, most notably the Lempel-Ziv algorithm. They have also conjectured that their result can be extended to a stronger almost sure convergence. This paper settles this conjecture in the negative. It proves, under some additional assumption regarding mixing conditions, that the length of a repeated subword oscillates with probability one between (1/h/sub 1/) log n and (1/h/sub 2/) log n where h/sub 2/>
Long-term clinical outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention versus coronary artery bypass grafting for acute coronary syndrome from the DELTA registry: a multicentre registry evaluating percutaneous coronary intervention versus coronary artery bypass grafting for left main treatment.

AIMS Our aim was to compare, in a large unprotected left main coronary artery (ULMCA) all-comer registry, the long-term clinical outcome after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with first-generation drug-eluting stents (DES) versus coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). METHODS AND RESULTS Of a total of 2,775 patients enrolled in the Drug Eluting Stents for Left Main Coronary Artery Disease (DELTA) multicentre registry, 379 (13.7%) patients with ACS treated with PCI (n=272) or CABG (n=107) were analysed. Baseline demographics were considerably different in the two groups before propensity matching. No significant differences emerged for the composite endpoint of all-cause death, myocardial infarction (MI), and cerebrovascular accident (HR 1.11, 95% CI: 0.63-1.94; p=0.727), all-cause death (HR 1.26, 95% CI: 0.68-2.32; p=0.462), the composite endpoint of all-cause death and MI (HR 1.02, 95% CI: 0.56-1.84; p=0.956), and major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (HR 0.82, 95% CI: 0.50-1.36; p=0.821). However, a higher incidence of target vessel revascularisation (HR 4.67, 95% CI: 1.33-16.47; p=0.008) was observed in the PCI compared with the CABG group, which was confirmed in the propensity score-matched analysis. CONCLUSIONS In the DELTA all-comer, multinational registry, PCI for ACS in ULMCA is associated with comparable clinical outcomes to those observed with CABG at long-term follow-up, despite the use of first-generation DES.
Benefit segments in a freight transport market

Understanding the factors which are influential in the choice to purchase a service (or product) may be insufficient for the basis of a marketing strategy. It is also important to understand the interrelationships among these choice factors. Customers, or groups of customers may place a different order of priority on the factors influencing their choice of service. Groups of customers with a similar pattern of priorities can be termed “benefit segments”. Considers benefit segments in the Irish Sea freight transport market. Three segments, route sensitive, not price sensitive, and price sensitive, are developed using principal components analysis and cluster analysis. The segments are profiled in terms of product characteristics, transport service characteristics, company demographics and control variables to facilitate the transport service marketing manager in identifying the segments. Implications for marketing strategy are discussed.
DETERMINANTS OF FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT (FDI) IN BULGARIA: An econometric analysis using panel data

The objective of this paper is to analyse the determinants of FDI in Bulgaria, using panel data and an extended time-span, from the late-1990s until the late-2000s, in order to explore FDI motivations during the most important phase of the Bulgarian transition, until recently. Results indicate that FDI in Bulgaria has been motivated by both market and efficiency reasons, as well as the high quality of the Bulgarian workforce. The progress in transition reforms and integration into the European Union, have also provided an important stimulus for the establishment of FDI in the Bulgarian market.
Earnings Management in Companies Seeking to be Acquired and its Effect on Chances of Subsequent Acquisition

Доказано, что менеджеры компаний часто прибегают к управлению прибылью с целью изменения показателей отчетности; при этом менеджеры, рассматривающие продажу собственной компании, обладают спектром значительных причин для манипуляций начислениями. Цель настоящего исследования – проанализировать влияние стратегий по управлению прибылью при помощи начислений, а также других факторов, на предполагаемую вероятность последующего поглощения компании-цели, публично заявляющей о рассмотрении собственной продажи. Мы исследуем выборку компаний, которые сделали соответствующий пресс-релиз в период 2010-2012 гг. В первой части исследования мы определяем размер манипуляций, на основе разработанных отраслевых моделей суммарных начислений, после чего мы выявляем факторы, влияющие на вероятность продажи компании, на основе бинарной логистической и инструментарной моделей. В результате исследования обнаружено, что компании-покупатели гораздо охотнее приобретают прибыльные, финансово стабильные компании, но лишь в том случае, если такие финансовые результаты отражают фундаментальные характеристики компании и не были достигнуты за счет манипуляций начислениями. Полученные результаты позволяют сформировать портфель рекомендаций для менеджеров компании-цели, в зависимости от финансового состояния компании.