Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
When is a Nexus of Contracts More Firm-Like? Theory and Evidence from Business Groups

When is a nexus of contracts more firm-like? We theoretically and empirically address this question in the context of business groups. We develop a model where assets can be diverted from one group affiliate to another and asset redeployment is more valuable when firms operate in related industries. The group ownership structure affects both the controlling shareholder's propensity to expropriate and the minority shareholders' incentives to monitor. We show that specialized groups choose more vertical structures and may well exhibit greater ownership concentration than diversified groups. We then confirm these predictions using novel and comprehensive data on business groups from 15 European countries. Interestingly, however, we also find substantial cross-country variation.
Effects of mesoscale phytoplankton variability on the copepods

The copepods Neocalanus flemingeri and N. plumchrus are major components of the mesozooplankton on the shelf of the Gulf of Alaska, where they feed, grow and develop during April–June, the period encompassing the spring phytoplankton bloom. Satellite imagery indicates high mesoscale variability in phytoplankton concentration during this time. Because copepod ingestion is related to food concentration, we hypothesized that phytoplankton ingestion by N. flemingeri and N. plumchrus would vary in response to mesoscale variability of phytoplankton. We proposed that copepods on the inner shelf, where the phytoplankton bloom is most pronounced, would be larger and have more lipid stores than animals collected from the outer shelf, where phytoplankton concentrations are typically low. Shipboard feeding experiments with both copepods were done in spring of 2001 and 2003 using natural water as food medium. Chlorophyll concentration ranged widely, between 0.32 and 11.44 mg l 1 and ingestion rates varied accordingly, between 6.0 and 627.0 ng chl cop 1 d . At chlorophyll concentrationso0.50 mg l , ingestion is always low, o40 ng cop 1 d . Intermediate ingestion rates were observed at chlorophyll concentrations between 0.5 and 1.5 mg l , and maximum rates at chlorophyll concentrations41.5mg l . Application of these feeding rates to the phytoplankton distribution on the shelf allowed locations and time periods of low, intermediate and high daily feeding to be calculated for 2001 and 2003. A detailed cross-shelf survey of body size and lipid store in these copepods, however, indicated they were indistinguishable regardless of collection site. Although the daily ingestion of phytoplankton by N. flemingeri and N. plumchrus varied widely because of mesoscale variability in phytoplankton, these daily differences did not result in differences in final body size or lipid storage of these copepods. These copepods efficiently dealt with small and mesoscale variations in their food environment such that mesoscale structure in phytoplankton did not affect their final body size. r 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Research of icing thickness on transmission lines based on fuzzy Markov chain prediction

Power system operation is confronted with the problem of how to reduce the damage that caused by the ice on the transmission lines as much as possible. Due to the indeterminacy of icing thickness on the transmission lines, accurate prediction of the icing thickness is essential in order to effectively guide the transmission line route planning and ice-resistant design of electric grid. Currently, there are relatively few research results on the medium and long term prediction of the icing thickness on the transmission lines. This paper presents a transmission line icing thickness prediction model that based on fuzzy Markov chain prediction, combining with the practical measured data from the Czech Studnice Observatory between 1940 and 1999. The model was verified through forecasting the range of the annual maximum of icing thickness during 1994-1999. The result shows that the accuracy of this method reached 80%.
How Does a Community Hold itself together? Insights from a Study on Community Social Capital in Malaysia

This paper discusses conceptually the mechanisms that underlie the existence of a community. The insights explicated in this essay came from a study on community social capital in Malaysia. The study utilized a combination of focus group discussions and a survey method of a total of 293 respondents covering six (6) communities from six (6) districts in the state of Kedah, Malaysia. The study managed to produce a community social capital measuring instrument comprising a total of 36 items covering six (6) different dimensions. The study reveals that within the conceptual corpus of social capital, there are several “social dimensions” that can be construed as the socio-psychological contexts where people within a community may converge and develop a sense of togetherness. What happens within these realms has been shown to indicate the level of cohesiveness that ultimately allow people to live and work together as a community. © 2016 Published by Future Academy www.FutureAcademy. org.uk
The polio endgame.

Infection with poliovirus can have devastating consequences, including paralysis and death. In 1988, a year when an estimated 350,000 or more children were paralyzed by polio, the World Health Assembly initiated a global effort to eradicate the infection once and for all. It was an audacious undertaking, given that the virus circulates largely undetected, requires laborious cell-culture techniques to confirm infection, and is tackled with vaccines that provide imperfect protection in the gut. Initially, the number of polio cases and countries with infections fell rapidly, particularly as financing and political support increased in the mid-1990s. The last case of paralytic .
Trends in self-energy operators and their corresponding exchange-correlation potentials.

We examine the trends in the self-energy operators of Si, diamond, GaAs, and AlAs, and in their corresponding exchange-correlation potentials ${V}_{\mathrm{xc}}$ and their discontinuities \ensuremath{\Delta}. The potentials are calculated from the self-energies, thus avoiding use of a local-density approximation (LDA). In each case about 80% of the LDA band-gap error is also present for the true density-functional theory eigenvalue difference derived from ${V}_{\mathrm{xc}}$ and so is caused by \ensuremath{\Delta}. The self-energies themselves, calculated in the Hedin-Lundqvist GW approximation, reproduce the experimental quasiparticle energies accurately, and are also shown to be well modeled by a simple functional form in real space.
Scaling behavior of nondispersive charge transport in disordered molecular solids.

The results of Monte Carlo simulations are presented, which delineate the spatial spreading of a packet of charge carriers drifting within an energetically and (possibly) geometrically disordered hopping-site manifold under the influence of an applied field. At large values of the energetic disorder parameter (σ/kT>4) the tail width of an otherwise nondispersive photocurrent transient is independent of sample length L, while at lower values of σ/kT the dispersion follows a L -1/2 relationship above a critical sample length. Experimental results on vapor-deposited 1, 1-bis(di-4-tolylaminophenyl)cyclohexane bear out the predicted transition between the two regimes upon varying temperature
Semantic Services for Business Documents Reconciliation

This paper describes the innovative work that the COIN project is developing in the context of the information interoperability using semantic approaches. The starting point is represented by the semantic reconciliation suite developed in the European project Athena. Then we aim at improving and enhancing the previous solution in order to ease the use of the platform itself with the support of automatic services.
Choices of financial reporting regimes and techniques and underlying decision-making processes: a case study analysis of a port authority

This paper examines how financial reporting modes are determined within a company, from the perspective of perceived costs and benefits. The modes investigated include financial reporting regimes (e.g. IFRS, UK GAAP) and the financial reporting techniques which support them (e.g. valuing intangibles and investments, treatment of development costs). A stated preference approach is adopted and applied to a fieldwork analysis of the functioning of a large port authority, which was a member of a group and prepared both consolidated and subsidiary accounts. The analysis is largely qualitative, exploring in-depth such matters as key factors in making choices, the decision-making processes behind choices, and the staging of decisions, but underpinned by a quantitative basis, using a metric for determining net benefits of financial reporting regimes and techniques. Our analysis aims to improve our understanding of a company’s choice processes underlying its financial reporting, including its handling of complexity and uncertainty, and its use of innovations in techniques and organisational forms for decision support.
Characterization for index based livestock insurance

Pastoral populations of Sub-Saharan Africa are particularly vulnerable to losses in wealth and productive assets via herd mortality shocks. Although conventional insurance mechanisms covering individual losses are not cost effective in low-income extensive grazing pastoral communities, index insurance for livestock offers a promising alternative. This paper identifies regions most suitable for an index based livestock insurance product: areas predicted to have high covariate risk from drought, high potential demand for a livestock insurance product, and supporting market infrastructure for an insurance product. Our findings support current efforts to implement index insurance in Kenya and Ethiopia, and reveal additional areas for geographic expansion in western and southern Africa. I Research Assistant, Cornell University II Postdoctoral Associate, Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University III Stephen B. and Janice G. Ashley Professor of Applied Economics and Management, Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University IV Principal Economist, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)
Isolation and Identification of Feline Peritoneal Macrophages for In Vitro Studies of Coronavirus-Macrophage Interactions

Feline peritoneal cells were collected by lavage with Isotonic saline without the use of irritants or need for euthanasia of the cats. Macrophages were purified by centrifugation on Percoll followed by selective adherence. Although few macrophages could be obtained from an initial lavage, a second lavage performed on the same cat 9‐11 days later yielded six times as many macrophages as the first lavage, providing sufficient numbers of cells for characterization and infection experiments. Macrophages from these subsequent lavages were not more functionally activated in phagocytosis assays than the resident macrophages from the initial lavage, and they were equally susceptible to infection with feline infectious peritonitis virus (FIPV). Infected cultures produced peak titers of 105.0 TCID50 per ml, and FIPV antigen was detected in a small subset (0.1‐1.0%) of cells by indirect immunofluorescence. The FlPV‐infected cells were identified as macrophages by their characteristic morphology and ability to phagocytize rhodamine‐labeled latex beads. The successful isolation of large numbers of unactivated feline macrophages will permit in vitro studies of feline coronavirus‐macrophage interactions that otherwise would not have been possible. Such studies will undoubtedly provide valuable insights Into the pathogenesis of feline infectious peritonitis, an invariably fatal disease of domestic and exotic cats.
Traditional vs New Approaches for Assessing Coral Health: A Global Overview and the Paradigm of French Polynesia

Today, there is increasing concern regarding the capacity of Scleractinian corals to sustain the growing number of insults associated with global and local changes (e.g. global warming, ocean acidification, pollution). If corals are to exist, there is an urgent need to use indicators of coral health that provide insight into early sub lethal shifts in corals before the irreversible effects of exposure manifest at the population and community levels. This paper will provide an overview of the most relevant and appropriate indicators of coral health currently used in traditional monitoring programs (traditional approach) or those that could be used in a near future to improve assessment of coral health (new and proactive approach). In addition, by using French Polynesia coral reefs as a study case, this paper will present how coral health was assessed in the past and how it will be in a near future.
The Contribution of Different Public Innovation Funding Programs to SMEs’ Export Performance

This paper studies the effects of different public innovation funding programs on the innovation output and export performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). We evaluate the effectiveness of regional, national and European funding programs implemented in Germany for both product and process innovations. Our panel study shows that public financial support contributes to higher innovation outputs, which in turn translates into higher export success in later years. This relation however only holds for certain sources of public funding and certain types of innovation output. Innovation support from the European Union and national programs for cutting-edge technology that results in higher sales with new-to-market products shows a significant positive effect on SMEs' export performance. For funding programs run by regional authorities, we find similar though relatively smaller impacts on both innovation output and exporting. Bottom-up funding at the national level-which allows firms to freely define the design of the funded innovation projects in terms of content and cooperation-increases sales with innovations that are only new to the firm, but these innovations have limited impacts on export success. Our results suggest that public innovation programs should challenge SMEs to go for more ambitious innovations in order to strengthen their competitiveness.
Managers, BusinessEurope and the Development of European Works Councils

This working paper looks at the views of managers responsible for European Works Councils (EWCs) within multinational companies on the operation of the institution. It also examines the policies of Business Europe on EWCs vis-a-vis the views of these managers.The findings of structured interviews with fifty-six EWC managers focus on management; corporate restructuring; the question whether EWCs offer value for money; operational concerns; the impact of the 2009 Recast directive; and the question where do we go from here.Finally the researchers draw the conclusions and recommendations for future European policies on European Works Councils.
Slumbering Giant or White Elephant - Do Credit Unions Have a Role in the United Kingdom Credit Market

At any time, the significance of a device which facilitates saving and borrowing and encourages the prudent management of credit and debt is clear. If the situation is one of an active credit market where certain categories of borrowers either cannot purchase credit in the market or can only do so on terms which will, inevitably, cause problems, and if these defects cannot be cured or regulated by existing legislation, then the importance of such an alternative only increases. The credit union is such a device. It has an established and proven record of success in many countries but, outside of Northern Ireland, credit unions are in their infancy in the United Kingdom. In this article, we seek to examine, against the background of the increasing problem of debt in the United Kingdom, the efficacy of present legal controls, and to present as our central thesis that mere legal reform is not sufficient. What is needed is an alternative source or sources of credit. We contend that the credit union can provide such an alternative. Its origins and utility, and, particularly, its legal framework in Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom, are examined with a view to assessing its role as a whole or partial answer to the management of credit and the control of debt in Britain.
Beamforming designs for breast sonography

The ideal observer (IO) methodology enables designers to derive optimal beamforming strategies for specific diagnostic tasks or general classes of tasks, although fast implementation requires approximations. We explore this approach in an effort to assess beamforming performance for a range of lesion-feature discrimination challenges. We show that matched-filter (MF), linearly-constrained minimum-variance (MV) with low-rank approximation, and Wiener-filter (WF) beamformers each emerge as approximations to the ideal-observer strategy for low-contrast lesion discrimination. For high-contrast tasks, we evaluate an iterative Wiener-filter (IWF) beamformer as a computationally-intense method for minimizing contrast assumptions when prior information is available.
Analysing the extent and effects of occupational regulation in New Zealand

ABSTRACT This study is the first to our knowledge to document the extent and correlates of occupational regulation in New Zealand. Using data from the Census and the Survey of Working Life, we estimate that 28% of workers’ primary jobs are affected by occupational regulation. This is lower than the 35% reported for the US but identical to UK estimates of 28%. Furthermore, we find that holding observable factors constant, occupational regulation is associated with a wage premium of 5%. This is lower than the 18% licensing premium found for the US but within the range of estimates for the UK.
Control of Entamoeba histolytica Adherence Involves Metallosurface Protease 1, an M8 Family Surface Metalloprotease with Homology to Leishmanolysin

ABSTRACT Invasive amebiasis due to Entamoeba histolytica infection is an important cause of morbidity in developing countries. The E. histolytica genome contains two homologues to the metalloprotease leishmanolysin gene, Entamoeba histolytica MSP-1 (EhMSP-1) and EhMSP-2, while the commensal ameba Entamoeba dispar has lost EhMSP-1. In this study, we sought to characterize E. histolytica metallosurface protease 1 (EhMSP-1). Using immunoprecipitation and a model substrate, we found that EhMSP-1 was a functional metalloprotease. Confocal microscopy and flow cytometry revealed that EhMSP-1 localized to the cell surface and revealed the existence of distinct, nonclonal trophozoite populations with high and low EhMSP-1 surface abundance that became synchronized following serum starvation. Phenotypic assays were performed after silencing EhMSP-1. Adherence of EhMSP-1-deficient trophozoites to tissue culture cell monolayers was more than five times greater than that of control amebas, but surface staining of several antigens, including the galactose adherence lectin, was unchanged. EhMSP-1 silencing similarly increased adherence to both viable and apoptotic Jurkat lymphocytes. Tissue culture cell monolayer destruction was reduced by EhMSP-1 silencing, although it was blocked almost completely by inhibiting cysteine proteases. Consistent with a primary defect in regulation of amebic adherence, EhMSP-1 silencing also resulted in reduced mobility on tissue culture cell monolayers and in increased phagocytosis. In conclusion, EhMSP-1 was shown to be a surface metalloprotease involved in regulation of amebic adherence, with additional effects on cell motility, cell monolayer destruction, and phagocytosis.
High‐dose sequential chemotherapy and peripheral blood progenitor cell autografting in patients with refractory and/or recurrent Hodgkin lymphoma

The objective of the current study was to evaluate in a multicenter setting the feasibility and efficacy of a high‐dose sequential (HDS) chemotherapy regimen that combined intensive debulking and high‐dose therapy (HDT) with peripheral blood progenitor cell (PBPC) autografting in patients with refractory or recurrent Hodgkin lymphoma (HL).
Attention Training for School-Aged Children With ADHD: Results of an Open Trial

Objective: The article discusses a feasibility study conducted to examine whether Pay Attention! , an intervention training sustained, selective, alternating, and divided attention, could be utilized in a clinical setting with children diagnosed with ADHD, and whether children who received the intervention made attention and executive functioning gains. Method: After a diagnostic and baseline evaluation, 23 school-aged children with ADHD participate in up to 16 sessions of Pay Attention! and the outcomes are evaluated. Results: Results show the intervention is feasible to administer and acceptable to participants. Parents and clinicians rate fewer ADHD symptoms following the intervention and report improvements in executive function. Child performance on neuropsychological tests showed improvements in fluid reasoning and cognitive flexibility and working memory. Conclusion: The findings suggest that a randomized clinical trial of Pay Attention! is warranted to investigate its viability as a treatment for attention and executive functioning deficits in ADHD. (J. of Att. Dis. 2010; 14(1) 86-94)
An algorithm for care: managing type 2 diabetes.

OUR HEALTHCARE SYSTEM has several neighborhood primary care clinics that serve a diverse population of uninsured or underserved patients. Currently, the clinics are in transition as they prepare to become patient-centered medical homes (PCMHS). PCHM is a model of primary care delivery that focuses on individualized care. It seeks to improve patient outcomes by involving patients in creating a care plan based on the individual patient and family needs.1 This transition is based on the 2008 National Commission on Quality Assurance (NCQA) PCMH model, which seeks to improve patient outcomes at the primary care level.1 Through its established bestpractice standards, the 2008 model challenges primary care practices to provide, coordinate, and sustain holistic, patient-centered care to meet patient and family needs.2 As PCMHs become more common, nurses are assuming more responsibilities as members of the care team. This article discusses the use of an evidence-based algorithm to guide and standardize nursing interventions for the care management of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).
Discretisation-Invariant Swaps

Extensive research illustrates the jump and discretisation errors that aect the valuation of standard swap contracts. We introduce a vector space of price and return characteristics that allow to dene swaps which can be valued exactly, assuming only that the market is free of arbitrage. Although fair-value swap rates are independent of monitoring frequency, the associated risk premiums are not. A historical analysis based on 16 years of S&P500 data demonstrates the diversity of the risk exposures attainable through trading these swaps, as well as oating-oating swaps that trade dierential