Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Effects of Accounting Standard Precision, Auditor Task Expertise, and Judgment Frameworks on Audit Firm Litigation Exposure

This article summarizes the published study “The Effects of Accounting Standard Precision, Auditor Task Expertise, and Judgment Frameworks on Audit Firm Litigation Exposure” (Grenier, Pomeroy, and Stern 2015), where the authors examine ways that auditors can defend their judgment during litigation regarding the appropriateness of clients' application of imprecise accounting standards. The authors find that utilizing technical experts will reduce litigation exposure arising from imprecise accounting standards because it is difficult to challenge judgments made by a recognized expert. However, the study also finds that using a framework for making high-quality professional judgments represents a cost-effective alternative to technical expertise, as doing so also constrains jurors' ability to challenge auditors' judgments. In sum, the study suggests that auditors are well equipped to handle the increased litigation exposure associated with imprecise accounting standards, and the ongoing worldwide transition to such standards is unlikely to lead to auditor herding to industry norms.
What makes hotel values in the UK? A hedonic valuation model

The purpose of this paper is to develop a hedonic valuation model for hotel properties in the UK. Regression and hotel property transactions in the UK between 1996 and 2002 are used to estimate a value equation that predicts property values and reveals value drivers in the UK. Results are compared to a US study and are found to be similar. It was confirmed in both studies that physical facilities and local economic conditions are significant in explaining value and they both had positive relationship with sale prices. The size of the property, economic conditions, recreational facilities and year of sale explained 73 percent of hotel values where meeting and banqueting facilities, chain affiliation, food and beverage operations and location only explained 27 percent of total value.
Risk-benefit profiles of women using tamoxifen for chemoprevention.

BACKGROUND Tamoxifen has been US Food and Drug Administration-approved for primary prevention of breast cancer since 1998 but has not been widely adopted, in part because of increased risk of serious side effects. Little is known about the risk-benefit profiles of women who use chemoprevention outside of a clinical trial. We examined characteristics associated with initiation and discontinuation of tamoxifen for primary prevention of breast cancer within a large cohort of women with a first-degree family history of breast cancer. METHODS This research was conducted within The Sister Study, a cohort of 50884 US and Puerto Rican women age 35 to 74 years enrolled from 2003 to 2009. Eligible women were breast cancer-free at enrollment and had a sister who had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Participants reported tamoxifen use, ages started and stopped taking tamoxifen, and total duration of use at enrollment. We identified 788 tamoxifen users and 3131 nonusers matched on age and year of enrollment who had no history of contraindicating factors (stroke, transient ischemic attack, cataract, endometrial or uterine cancer). Characteristics associated with tamoxifen initiation were evaluated with multivariable conditional logistic regression. All statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS Based on published risk-benefit indices, 20% of women who used tamoxifen had insufficient evidence that the benefits of tamoxifen outweigh the risk of serious side effects. After 4.5 years, 46% of women had discontinued tamoxifen. CONCLUSIONS While the majority of women who used tamoxifen for primary prevention of breast cancer were likely to benefit, substantial discontinuation of tamoxifen before five years and use by women at risk of serious side effects may attenuate benefits for breast cancer prevention.
Duplex high‐throughput flow cytometry screen identifies two novel formylpeptide receptor family probes

Of recent, clinical interest have been two related human G‐protein coupled receptors: formylpeptide receptor (FPR), linked to antibacterial inflammation and malignant glioma cell metastasis; and FPR like‐1 (FPRL1), linked to chronic inflammation in systemic amyloidosis, Alzheimer's disease, and prion diseases. In association with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Molecular Library Screening Network, we implemented a flow‐cytometry‐based high‐throughput screening (HTS) approach for identifying selective small molecule FPR and FPRL1 ligands. The screening assay measured the ability of test compounds to competitively displace a high‐affinity, fluorescein‐ labeled peptide ligand from FPR, FPRL1, or both. U937 cells expressing FPR and rat basophil leukemia (RBL) cells expressing FPRL1 were tested together in a “duplex” format. The U937 cells were color coded with red‐fluorescent dye allowing their distinction during analysis. Compounds, cells, and fluorescent ligand were sequentially combined (no wash) in 15 μl assay volumes in 384‐well plates. Throughput averaged ∼11 min per plate to analyze ∼4,000 cells (∼2,000/receptor) in a 2 μl aspirate from each well. In primary single concentration HTS of 24,304 NIH Small Molecule Repository compounds, 253 resulted in inhibition >30% (181 for FPR, 72 for FPRL1) of which 40 had selective binding inhibition constants (Ki) ≤ 4 μM (34 for FPR and 6 for FPRL1). An additional 1,446 candidate compounds were selected by structure–activity‐relationship analysis of the hits and screened to identify novel ligands for FPR (3570‐0208, Ki = 95 ± 10 nM) and FPRL1 (BB‐V‐115, Ki = 270 ± 51 nM). Each was a selective antagonist in calcium response assays and the most potent small molecule antagonist reported for its respective receptor to date. The duplex assay format reduced assay time, minimized reagent requirements, and provided selectivity information at every screening stage, thus proving to be an efficient means to screen for selective receptor ligand probes. © 2008 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry
The RHOA G17V gene mutation occurs frequently in peripheral T-cell lymphoma and is associated with a characteristic molecular signature.

To the editor: Peripheral T-cell lymphomas (PTCLs) are a group with poor outcome and nonspecific therapeutic regimens. Recently, Palomero et al[1][1] and Sakata-Yanagimoto et al[2][2] identified a recurrent heterozygous mutation in the RHOA small GTPase gene encoding a p.Gly17Val alteration (G17V)
Phosphorylation Modulates the Function of the Calcium Release Channel of Sarcoplasmic Reticulum from Cardiac Muscle (*)

The cardiac calcium release channel (CRC) of sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles was incorporated into planar lipid membranes to evaluate modulation of channel activity by phosphorylation and dephosphorylation. For this purpose a microsyringe application directly to the membrane was used to achieve sequential and multiple treatments of channels with highly purified kinases and phosphatases. Cyclic application of protein kinase A (PKA) or Ca/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CalPK) and potato acid phosphatase or protein phosphatase 1 revealed a channel block by Mg (mM), that is referable to dephosphorylated states of the channel, and that the Mg block could be removed by phosphorylation of the CRC by either PKA or CalPK. By contrast, activation of endogenous CalPK (end CalPK) led to channel closure which could be reversed by dephosphorylation using potato acid phosphatase or protein phosphatase 1. Calmodulin by itself (which activates end CalPK in the presence of MgATP) blocks the channel in the dephosphorylated state, which can be overcome by treatment with CalPK but not PKA. Our findings reveal important insights regarding channel regulation of the ryanodine receptor: 1) the calcium release channel must be phosphorylated to be in the active state at conditions approximating physiological Mg concentrations (mM); and 2) there are multiple sites of phosphorylation on the calcium release channel with different functional consequences, which may be relevant to the regulation of E-C coupling. Phosphorylation of the CRC may be involved in recruitment of active channels, and/or it may be directly involved in each Ca contraction cycle of the heart. For example, Ca release may require phosphorylation of the CRC by protein kinases at sites which overcome the block by Mg. Inactivation may involve CRC block by calmodulin and/or phosphorylation by endogenous CalPK at the junctional face membrane.
Safety of low dose glucocorticoid treatment in rheumatoid arthritis: published evidence and prospective trial data

Adverse effects of glucocorticoids have been abundantly reported. Published reports on low dose glucocorticoid treatment show that few of the commonly held beliefs about their incidence, prevalence, and impact are supported by clear scientific evidence. Safety data from recent randomised controlled clinical trials of low dose glucocorticoid treatment in RA suggest that adverse effects associated with this drug are modest, and often not statistically different from those of placebo.
How to Make Soccer More Attractive? Rewards for a Victory, the Teams' Offensiveness, and the Home Bias

How do the rewards for a victory influence the soccer teams' offensiveness? The authors argue that a “home bias” induces the home team to play excessively offensively, in the sense that the home team does not maximize the tangible returns from a match. When the rewards for a victory are increased, the opportunity costs of playing excessively offensively rise, so that the home team chooses a more defensive playing style. Therefore, an increase in the rewards for a victory leads to the counterintuitive result of a more defensive soccer match if the home bias is sufficiently strong and if the levels of offensiveness of the teams are strategic substitutes. The authors test their theoretical hypotheses with data on the German soccer premier league. If the home bias is proxied for by the number of spectators relative to the stadium capacity, the authors find support for the theoretical predictions. The results have implications for the design of soccer competitions.
Comparison of concurrent chemoradiotherapy versus sequential radiochemotherapy in patients with completely resected non-small cell lung cancer

Purpose Our institution has implemented two different adjuvant protocols in treating patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC): chemotherapy followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CT-CCRT) and sequential postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) followed by postoperative chemotherapy (POCT). We aimed to compare the clinical outcomes between the two adjuvant protocols. Materials and Methods From March 1997 to October 2012, 68 patients were treated with CT-CCRT (n = 25) and sequential PORT followed by POCT (RT-CT; n = 43). The CT-CCRT protocol consisted of 2 cycles of cisplatin-based POCT followed by PORT concurrently with 2 cycles of POCT. The RT-CT protocol consisted of PORT followed by 4 cycles of cisplatin-based POCT. PORT was administered using conventional fractionation with a dose of 50.4–60 Gy. We compared the outcomes between the two adjuvant protocols and analyzed the clinical factors affecting survivals. Results Median follow-up time was 43.9 months (range, 3.2 to 74.0 months), and the 5-year overall survival (OS), locoregional recurrence-free survival (LRFS), and distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) were 53.9%, 68.2%, and 51.0%, respectively. There were no significant differences in OS (p = 0.074), LRFS (p = 0.094), and DMFS (p = 0.490) between the two protocols. In multivariable analyses, adjuvant protocol remained as a significant prognostic factor for LRFS, favouring CT-CCRT (hazard ratio [HR] = 3.506, p = 0.046) over RT-CT, not for OS (HR = 0.647, p = 0.229). Conclusion CT-CCRT protocol increased LRFS more than RT-CT protocol in patients with completely resected NSCLC, but not in OS. Further studies are warranted to evaluate the benefit of CCRT strategy compared with sequential strategy.
Gram stain evaluation of the quality of sputum specimens for mycobacterial culture

A group of 34 mycobacteria, consisting of 25 Mycobacterium tuberculosis and nine strains of three other species, was isolated from 400 expectorated sputum specimens submitted on 148 patients from county-wide sources. Eight strains (24% of the total) were isolated from specimens evaluated by Gram stain to be oropharyngeal fluids. The remaining 26 strains were isolated from ungradable specimens and those primarily of lower respiratory origin. It was concluded that the random examination of sputum by Gram stain to determine the specimen's quality for mycobacterial isolation is not necessary.
Eighteen new tetranucleotide microsatellite DNA markers for Coregonus lavaretus cloned from an alpine lake population

We developed 18 polymorphic microsatellite markers for Coregonus lavaretus from genomic libraries enriched for (GACA)n and (GATA)n repeat sequences. Emphasis was placed on developing highly polymorphic, perfect repeats. These loci were screened in 69 individuals from two alpine populations in Austria. Allelic variation was high with nine to 37 alleles per locus and expected heterozygosities ranging from 0.37 to 0.95. The high level of polymorphism revealed by these loci will be relevant for population studies in context to the evolutionary history of this species.
Advertising and Alcohol Demand in the UK: Further results

Johnson (1985) presents a system-wide analysis on the effects of advertising on the demand for beer, wine and spirits in the UK. However, his results are not consistent with other studies in the area. This paper shows that his results can be improved by using a different demand equation for the alcoholic beverages group. Furthermore, this paper also considers the analysis of treating advertising as a stock rather than a flow. This analysis reveals that advertising on beer, wine and spirits depreciates in consumers' minds fully within a year.
Strategic deployment of CHP-based distributed energy resources in microgrids

Distributed Energy Resource (DER) technology (e.g. microturbine, fuel cell) has greatly been advanced in recent years. These DERs are often used as the main components of a CHP-microgrid system and may be called as CHP-based DER. CHP-based DERs can provide power and heat with reliability and quality tailored to the requirements of end-users. As deregulation regime is penetrating more and more into the electricity market, competition among the IPPs is becoming acute. To sustain in this market, cost of electricity generation is to be reduced, not only using modern CHP-based DER technology but also, at the same time, deploying them in the microgrid system as per their type, capacity-size and bus-location. A cost-benefit analysis based method is proposed, in this paper, to enhance the reliability of both 6- and 14-bus meshed as well as radial microgrid networks. In this regard, various costs and benefits relating to CHP-based DER deployment have been taken into account for economic feasibility study. Higher the value of benefit to cost ratio (BCR), than one, better will be the selection of type, capacity-size, and bus-location of CHP-based DERs in respect of utility's benefit. More the Utility's benefit, lesser will be the price of electricity and ultimately, gainer will be the consumers. In this paper, bus-locations have been selected by loss sensitivity analysis and Particle swarm optimization (PSO) technique has been used to maximize BCR.
Stability of money demand function revisited in China

As China's economic reforms have undergone significant structural changes after 1979, it has been rather difficult to formulate a stable money demand function over the period following that year. While previous literature on the long-run relationship of money demand in China shows the existence of stable money demand, this article revisits the stability of the China money demand function over the period after 1979. To employ the unit root tests and the cointegration tests with structural break, the empirical evidence demonstrates that economic and financial deregulation did affect the stability of demand for money in China over the period 1977 to 2002. Moreover, the estimated long-run income and interest elasticity are respectively 1.01 (1.11) and −0.14 (−0.08) using the real M1 (M2) equation. In addition, real income and the interest rate are found to be weakly exogenous. We overall do find structural breakpoints mainly in 1980 and 1993, and they look to match clearly with corresponding critical financial and economic incidents.
Cost minimisation through interest‐free micro credit to micro entrepreneurs: A case of Bangladesh

The purpose of the paper is to present the result of an empirical review as to how and to what extent the interest‐free microfinance to micro entrepreneurs contributes in minimising different cots of both the lender and the borrowers. An institutional‐network theoretical approach is used to study the phenomenon. A qualitative nature of research methodology is used while studying this particular phenomenon. A multiple explanatory case study was adopted as a research strategy in order to focus on contemporary phenomenon within the real life context of different rural‐based micro entrepreneurs and their relationships with the lending organisations. Interest‐free microfinance by Islamic banks is characterised by a close supervision and an in‐kind type of financing, which contributes greatly in promoting lender‐borrower network relationships between the bank and the rural based micro entrepreneurs. Such network relationships result in minimising exchange costs and other business related costs of both the borro.
Selling to strategic and loss‐averse consumers: Stocking, procurement, and product design policies

Motivated by the presence of loss‐averse decision making behavior in practice, this article considers a supply chain consisting of a firm and strategic consumers who possess an S‐shaped loss‐averse utility function. In the model, consumers decide the purchase timing and the firm chooses the inventory level. We find that the loss‐averse consumers' strategic purchasing behavior is determined by their perceived gain and loss from strategic purchase delay, and the given rationing risk. Thus, the firm that is cognizant of this property tailors its inventory stocking policy based on the consumers' loss‐averse behavior such as their perceived values of gain and loss, and their sensitivity to them. We also demonstrate that the firm's equilibrium inventory stocking policy reflects both the economic logic of the traditional newsvendor inventory model, and the loss‐averse behavior of consumers. The equilibrium order quantity is significantly different from those derived from models that assume that the consumers are risk neutral and homogeneous in their valuations. We show that the firm that ignores strategic consumer's loss‐aversion behavior tends to keep an unnecessarily high inventory level that leads to excessive leftovers. Our numerical experiments further reveal that in some extreme cases the firm that ignores strategic consumer's loss‐aversion behavior generates almost 92% more leftovers than the firm that possesses consumers’ loss‐aversion information and takes it into account when making managerial decisions. To mitigate the consumer's forward‐looking behavior, we propose the adoption of the practice of agile supply chain management, which possesses the following attributes: (i) procuring inventory after observing real‐time demand information, (ii) enhanced design (which maintains the current production mix but improves the product performance to a higher level), and (iii) customized design (which maintains the current performance level but increases the variety of the current production line to meet consumers’ specific demands). We show that such a practice can induce the consumer to make early purchases by increasing their rationing risk, increasing the product value, or diversifying the product line. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics 62: 435–453, 2015
Cultural Context: Explaining the Productivity of Capitalism

Does capitalism perform better when embedded in certain cultures? Given the wide range of economic outcomes, we address potential causes for the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of institutional constraints. This paper argues that culture matters for the success of capitalist institutions, specifically economic freedom. We claim that different cultures may raise or lower the productivity of economic institutions by either constraining or supporting these rules. We analyze this relationship empirically by examining how the interaction between economic freedom and culture affects economic growth. Our results suggest that culture does, indeed, enhance the effectiveness of capitalism and its subsequent impact on growth.
Self‐organization, evolutionary and revolutionary change in organizations

This paper proposes the application of the self-organizing systems model as a basis for modelling evolutionary and revolutionary changes in formal organizations as suggested by the theory of punctuated equilibrium. The mechanisms and processes involved in generating the various phenomena of change in real formal organizations are highly complex, but the self-organizing systems model can be expected to provide a reasonably close approximation to reality. The advantage of doing this, rather than merely using metaphors, is the ability to generate explanations that are clearer and predictions that are more precise. Historical perspectives and empirical evidence are cited throughout. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Boards and governance of state-owned enterprises

Purpose – This study aims to examine the structure, attributes, and performance of boards of directors of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) within the broader context of public sector governance. This is informed by the less attention given to the concept among public sector organizations despite efforts to make state enterprises more effective and efficient, especially in developing and middle income countries. Design/methodology/approach – Data was collected through questionnaires self-administered in 2010 to all 25 SOEs in Accra, Ghana, out of the 29 nationwide. Some key officials were interviewed and documentary evidence analyzed to achieve triangulation of data and results. Findings – Results show that state-owned enterprises have boards and comply with the minimal governance issues outlined the legal frameworks establishing them. However, they exhibit significant weaknesses in the areas of board performance evaluation, criteria for board appointment, the balance of executive directors and non-executive.
Pathways from Jobs to Social Cohesion

There is growing recognition that access to good jobs is an important driver of social cohesion. While economic dimensions of labor market outcomes are relatively well documented, evidence on the link between social cohesion and jobs is still surprisingly scarce. This paper, based on an earlier background report for the WDR 2013, presents empirical evidence for pathways between labor market outcomes and social cohesion. The findings indicate that formal employment is associated with a range of social outcomes and behaviors that are typically associated with higher levels of social cohesion. However, there are also indications that this relationship varies across dimensions of social wellbeing. In particular social interactions and political activism among those in regular employment can either improve the quality of aggregate institutions or deepen existing social divides.