Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Have IFRS Changed How Stock Prices Associate with Earnings and Book Values? Evidence from Norway

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to examine how the mandatory shift from Norwegian Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (NGAAP) to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in Norway affected the valuation weights of earnings and book values, with the aim of gaining insights that are relevant for standard setters, investors and other users of accounting information. Design/methodology/approach - – The authors extend the IFRS literature on structural shifts between the pre- and post-adoption periods by comprehensively controlling for factors that vary between the IFRS sample and the domestic Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) sample. Moreover, the tests are designed to reveal the underlying accounting causes of the observed differences in value relevance. Findings - – IFRS are balance sheet-oriented and emphasize measurement at fair value. By contrast, NGAAP are earnings-oriented and focus on historical cost. IFRS also differ from NGAAP by recognizing more intangible assets. Overall, IFRS are thus less conservative than NGAAP. It was found that expanded fair value accounting increases the value relevance of book values and decreases the value relevance of earnings. However, the improved matching of intangible asset expenditures with the future economic benefits of such intangible assets increases the persistence and value relevance of earnings relative to book values. Originality/value - – This paper introduces a test methodology that is designed to identify the effects that specific accounting differences between the IFRS sample and the domestic GAAP sample have on value relevance. Consequently, this paper not only identifies the overall effects on value relevance but also contributes to the literature by identifying specific accounting differences between IFRS and GAAP that cause these overall effects, and thus obtain insights that are valuable for standard setters and other users of accounting information.
Sabotage in Tournaments with Heterogeneous Contestants: Empirical Evidence from the Soccer Pitch

In this paper, we address the problem of sabotage in tournaments with heterogeneous contestants. In a first step, we develop a formal model, which yields the prediction that favorites exert higher productive effort, while underdogs are more tempted to engage in destructive actions (sabotage). This is because favorites have a higher return on productive effort and both types of effort are substitutes. In a second step, we use data from German professional soccer to test this prediction. In line with the model, we find that favorite teams win more tackles in a fair way, while underdog teams commit more fouls.
Breaking the scaling barrier of large area lateral power devices: an 1m/spl Omega/ flip-chip power MOSFET with ultra low gate charge

The conduction performance of low-voltage lateral power semiconductor devices deteriorates considerably with increasing device size due to the parasitic resistance of metal interconnects, commonly known as the "scaling limitation". In this paper, we introduce an innovative concept to overcome the problem by integrating a unique metal interconnect scheme with chip-scale packaging. We have designed and fabricated a sub-10 V class power MOSFET with a record-low R/sub DSON/ of 1 m/spl Omega/ at a gate voltage of 6 V, or 1.25 m/spl Omega/ at a gate voltage of 4.5 V, approximately 50% of the lowest R/sub DSON/ previously reported. The new device has a total gate charge Q/sub g/ of 22 nC at 4.5 V and a performance figure of merit of less than 30 m/spl Omega/-nC. This represents a 3/spl times/ improvement over the state of the art trench MOSFETs. The new MOSEFT technology can be used to enable next-generation, multi-MHz, high-density DC/DC converters for future CPU cores and many other high-performance power management applications.
Pharmacokinetics of benzophenone‐3 after oral exposure in male rats

Benzophenone‐3 (BZ‐3) is one of the UV‐absorbing agents that has been used in industry and medicine for more than 30 years. Millions of consumers are exposed to benzophenones on a daily basis owing to the widespread use of these compounds in many of the products on the market, such as lipsticks, hair sprays, hair dyes, shampoo and detergent bars and sunscreen lotions. This study was performed to investigate the pharmacokinetics of BZ‐3 after oral administration at 100 mg kg−1 body weight in male Sprague‐Dawley rats. Absorption from the gastronintestinal tract was rapid because BZ‐3 was detected in blood 5 min after administration. The peak plasma concentration (Cmax) was 25.6 ± 4.6 μg ml−1 and the time of occurrence (tmax) was 3.0 ± 0.4 h. The half‐life of absorption of BZ‐3 was 0.71 h. The elimination pattern was biphasic with α and β half‐lives of elimination of 0.88 and 15.90 h, respectively. The results of this study indicate the presence of strong binding between the plasma protein and BZ‐3.
Collaborations of Schools and Social Service Agencies

■ Housing Agency and School District Collaborations to Serve Homeless and Highly Mobile Students brief; available for downloading at http://www.serve. org/nche/ briefs.php: This brief examines several successful housing agency and school district collaborations from across the nation and explains how this type of collaboration can help reduce the frequency of family moves and promote school stability.
Environmental Implications of Resource Use:Environmental Input‐Output Analyses for Germany

In a German case study, environmental input‐output analyses (eIOA) combined with NAMEA‐type tables were conducted for eleven selected environmental pressure variables. (NAMEA is an acronym for national accounts matrix including environmental accounts.) The analyses were conducted to derive the production‐cycle‐wide resource use and environmental impact potentials of final‐demand product groups. The methodology permits identification and preliminary ranking of 10 product chains along which about two‐thirds of German production‐born environmental pressures arise. The most relevant product groups are construction work, food, motor vehicles, basic metals, and electricity. The ten product groups are characterized by both high resource requirements and high residual outputs (air emissions, wastes). The EU policy areas of integrated product policy and sustainable use of natural resources may address these product chains as a priority in order to identify and explore the possibility of reducing the environmental impacts from products throughout their life cycles and to decouple environmental impacts from resource use.
Estimation and comparison of treasury auction formats when bidders are asymmetric

The structural parameters of a share-auction model accounting for asymmetries across bidders, as well as supply uncertainty, are estimated with a sample of French Treasury auctions. We find evidence of both informational and risk aversion asymmetries across bidders. A counter-factual analysis also suggests that, in the context of the French Treasury auctions, a shift from the discriminatory to the uniform-price format would simultaneously benefit the French Treasury and the auctions' participants. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
An Examination of Faculty Perceptions of Academic Journal Quality within Five Specialized Areas of Accounting Research

In recent years, the research and publishing efforts of accounting academicians have become increasingly more specialized, as evidenced by the popularity of American Accounting Association (AAA) specialized sections and the increase in specialized academic publications (Herron and Hall 2004; Zeff 1996). Despite the trend, there is evidence that specialized areas are under‐represented in the academic accounting journals typically regarded as top‐tier (Bonner et al. 2006) and minimally considered in journal quality studies (Bean and Bernardi 2005). This study identifies topquality research publication outlets in five specialized areas of accounting research (behavioral, taxation, government and nonprofit, management accounting, and information systems), as perceived by accounting faculty familiar with these areas. We survey members of five AAA sections regarding journal quality and the effect of journal quality on promotion and tenure. We find that there are multiple outlets for high‐quality research in spe.
Antitrust and Merger Policy: A Review and Critique

A ny antitrust policy that tries to put some restrictions on mergers must have a conceptual basis. One such framework might be a populist approach in which only absolute or relative size of the merger partners and/or the resulting entity would be the criterion. Political rhetoric often embodies this approach. An alternative approach-the one that underlies the 1982 Department of Justice Merger Guidelines-concerns itself with the possible exercise of market power.1 I believe this second approach is more consistent with the language of Section 7 of the Clayton Act itself, which instructs the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to prevent those mergers the effects of which "may be substantially to lessen competition, or to tend to create a monopoly. " This market power approach also places merger policy in a realm that is susceptible to economic analysis; for this reason as well, this approach appeals to me. The Merger Guidelines are firmly rooted in the standard oligopoly theory developed by Chamberlin (1933), Fellner (1949), and Stigler (1964), and strengthened
The nuclear chloride ion channel NCC27 is involved in regulation of the cell cycle

1 NCC27 is a nuclear chloride ion channel, identified in the PMA‐activated U937 human monocyte cell line. NCC27 mRNA is expressed in virtually all cells and tissues and the gene encoding NCC27 is also highly conserved. Because of these factors, we have examined the hypothesis that NCC27 is involved in cell cycle regulation. 2 Electrophysiological studies in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO‐K1) cells indicated that NCC27 chloride conductance varied according to the stage of the cell cycle, being expressed only on the plasma membrane of cells in G2/M phase. 3 We also demonstrate that Cl− ion channel blockers known to block NCC27 led to arrest of CHO‐K1 cells in the G2/M stage of the cell cycle, the same stage at which this ion channel is selectively expressed on the plasma membrane. 4 These data strongly support the hypothesis that NCC27 is involved, in some as yet undetermined manner, in regulation of the cell cycle.
Indicators of Social Exclusion and Poverty in Europe's Regions

This paper provides an overview of a methodology and application for the construction of regional (sub-national) indicators of poverty and social exclusion in Europe. Starting from Laeken Indicators defined at the country level, proposals are made for their regional adaptation. A strategy is developed and implemented for the construction of regional indicators. It involves making use of micro-level survey data and region-level data from other sources to produce regional indicators using composite area-level EBLUP methodology. Illustrative results are shown of estimates down to NUTS2 level for most EU regions and to NUTS3 level in the case of Italy.
Does the Federal Reserve Lexicographically Order Its Policy Objectives

We test a Federal Reserve reaction function for threshold effects among the Fed's policy objectives. We find evidence that the Fed responds with greater intensity to a policy objective when that policy objective moves beyond acceptable bounds. We also find that the Fed only responds to lesser objectives when its primary, or threshold, objective is within acceptable bounds--a behavior which can be described as lexicographic ordering. Finally, our results suggest that Fed policy is becoming increasingly responsive to inflation and less responsive to unemployment.
Ethyl glucuronide: a biomarker to identify alcohol use by health professionals recovering from substance use disorders.

AIMS Physicians recovering from substance-related disorders are usually allowed to return to practice if they agree to remain abstinent from drugs, including alcohol, and to undergo random urine testing. Over 9000 physicians are currently involved in such monitoring programs in the US. To date, it has been difficult to adequately monitor abstinence from alcohol due to the short half-life of alcohol and no other highly specific marker. Ethyl glucuronide (EtG), a direct metabolite of alcohol, offers an extended window for assessment of drinking status (up to 5 days). Our aim was to assess the potential value of EtG testing in abstinence-based monitoring programs. PATIENTS AND METHODS Urine samples were obtained from 100 participants in a physician monitoring program and additional samples were subsequently obtained 'for cause', 'to verify positive urine alcohol, when drinking was denied' and 'in high risk individuals'. All participants had signed contracts agreeing to remain abstinent from mood-altering drugs, including alcohol, and had agreed to random urine testing. EtG was determined using LC/MS-MS in addition to standard testing. The main outcome measure were urine specimens positive for EtG versus those positive based on standard testing for alcohol and other drugs. RESULTS Among the initial 100 random samples collected, no sample was positive for alcohol using standard testing; however, seven were positive for EtG (0.5-196 mg/l), suggesting recent alcohol use. Subsequent EtG testing was performed clinically during the course of monitoring. Of the 18 tests performed to date, eight of eight tests performed 'for cause' were positive for EtG but negative for all other drugs including urine alcohol. All eight were confirmed positive by self reported drinking by the patient when confronted regarding the positive test result. Of six tests performed to 'confirm a positive urine alcohol' two were positive for EtG and confirmed positive by self reported drinking. For the other four samples, especially as two are from a diabetic, in vitro fermentation of ethanol is discussed. CONCLUSIONS These data suggest that physicians in monitoring programs have a higher rate of unrecognized alcohol use than previously reported. Incorporation of EtG testing into alcohol abstinence monitoring can strengthen these programs.
Polymerase chain reaction test in induced sputum of patients with pulmonary tuberculosis

Induced sputum (IS) is an alternative method of obtaining sputum, but IS smears are frequently negative. Culture is more time consuming in its results, and less useful to guide the diagnosis. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is the most common methodology for rapid diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB), and few studies evaluated its role in IS samples.
Efficiency vs. effectiveness orientation of global sourcing strategy: A comparison of U.S. and Japanese multinational companies

Executive Overview During most of this decade, Japan has been mired in its longest post-war recession. Some pundits predict that this will be the end of the Japanese corporate juggernaut. Indeed, our interest in Japan and Japanese competition has waned concomitantly in recent years. So has our learning from the Japanese. This is dangerously short-sighted. The pendulum of international trade has shifted from cross-Atlantic to cross-Pacific in recent years, as U.S. and Japanese multinational companies engaged in global sourcing strategy across the Pacific. Indeed, while struggling in the post-bubble economy, many Japanese companies have accelerated their move toward their Pacific Rim global sourcing paradigm. Based on Japan's regional ties with the rest of Asia, Australia, and increasingly other parts of the Pacific Rim, this paradigm builds on Japan's famed target costing, target exchange rate, new product development style, and keiretsu (interfirm alliances). While Japanese companies have slowed the pace .
Critical Factors in Basal Cell Adhesion Molecule/Lutheran-mediated Adhesion to Laminin*

Basal cell adhesion molecule (B-CAM) and Lutheran (LU) are two spliceoforms of a single immunoglobulin superfamily protein containing five Ig domains and comprise the sickle (SS) red cell receptor for laminin. We have now analyzed laminin binding to murine erythroleukemia cells transfected with various human B-CAM/LU constructs. B-CAM and LU bound equally well to laminin, indicating that the longer cytoplasmic tail of LU is not required for binding. However, binding of soluble laminin did require the presence of the membrane-proximal fifth immunoglobulin superfamily (IgSF) domain of LU, while deletion of IgSF domains 1, 2, 3, or 4 individually or together did not abrogate laminin binding. Under flow conditions, MEL cells expressing B-CAM, LU, and LU lacking domains 1, 2, 3, or 4 adhered to immobilized laminin with critical shear stresses over 10 dynes/cm2. However, MEL cells expressing LU lacking domain 5 bound to laminin poorly (critical shear stress = 2.3 dynes/cm2). Moreover, expression of only IgSF domain 5 of LU was sufficient to mediate MEL cell adhesion to immobilized laminin (critical shear stress >10 dynes/cm2). Finally, Scatchard analysis showed that SS red cells had an average of 67% more B-CAM/LU than normal red cells, and low density red cells from sickle cell disease patients expressed 40–55% more B-CAM/LU than high density SS red cells. B-CAM/LU copy number thus may also play a role in the abnormal adhesion of SS red cells to laminin.
Comparison of antithrombin III assays using biological and chromogenic substrates

Summary. Antithrombin III (At III) levels in plasma samples were determined by incubation of diluted plasma with thrombin, either with or without heparin, followed by measurement of residual thrombin using clotting and amidolytic methods. All assays were of multidose bioassay design suitable for parallel line analysis. Assays without heparin showed only a small difference between amidolytic and clotting methods, which was not significant at the 95% level. Assays with heparin showed a much larger difference between clotting and amidolytic methods which is shown to be attributable to the heat defibrination step used in the clotting assay. Heat defibrination and ancrod defibrination methods are compared using the amidolytic heparin cofactor assay and it is shown that heat defibrination can cause the loss of nearly 50% of the functional At III in a reconstituted freeze‐dried plasma which was used as a standard. No loss occurs when ancrod is used for defibrination. It is an advantage of the amidolytic heparin cofactor assay that defibrination is not required.
Using machine learning models to classify user performance in the ruff figurai fluency test from eye-tracking features

The Ruff Figurai Fluency Test is a paper and pencil tool to gain information about the nonverbal capacity for such activities as initiation, planning, and divergent reasoning including strategy use. It is applied voluntarily in the form of cognitive test batteries. In this study a computerised version of the Ruff Figural Fluency Test was employed in order to assess user cognitive performance. Sixty-one male participants were examined using the eye-tracking technique to gain the desired data. Different machine learning models were applied in order to classify user performance. The best results (78,7% for the testing dataset) were obtained for Quadratic Discriminant Analysis classifier.
An investigation of the association between ownership structure and corporate performance: Empirical evidence from Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE)

Purpose - – The main purpose of the present research is to study the relationship between ownership concentration and the type of ownership, i.e. state, firm (legal persons), individual, family, institutional – on the value of the companies listed in Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE). Design/methodology/approach - – The study applies panel data regression analysis to a sample of companies listed in TSE during the period 2005-2009. Two-stage least-squares analysis is conducted. Findings - – The paper finds that ownership concentration is positively related to ROE, and that ownership concentration is negatively related to ROA. Moreover, state, family, and individual ownership are negatively related to performance, and firm (legal person) and institutional ownership are positively related to performance. The paper also finds that higher firm profitability requires a more diffused ownership structure. Research limitations/implications - – The results of the present research support agency theory and efficient monitoring hypothesis. The results strongly suggest the failure of state ownership in increasing companies' value and underline the importance of accelerating privatization in Iran. Practical implications - – To improve the performance and consequently the value of companies, the process of privatization in Iran must be accelerated and public ownership must be transferred to the private sector. Further, investors must pay special attention to the type of ownership and ownership concentration of companies when deciding to buy their shares. Originality/value - – The study builds on prior research in several ways. First, the paper offers new insights into the relationship between corporate governance and economic performance by using data from Iranians listed firms, this new evidence from an emerging market enhances the understanding of corporate governance in Asian countries. Second, the study focuses on five dimensions: ownership concentration, state, firm, individual, family, and institutional ownership which allow one to get a more accurate picture of the ownership structure-firm value relationship.
Older adults and withdrawal from benzodiazepine hypnotics in general practice: effects on cognitive function, sleep, mood and quality of life

Background. Older adults are the main recipients of repeat prescriptions for benzodiazepine (BZD) hypnotics. BZDs can impair cognitive function and may not aid sleep when taken continuously for years. This study therefore aimed to determine if withdrawing from BZDs leads to changes in patients' cognitive function, quality of life, mood and sleep. Method. One hundred and ninety-two long-term users of BZD hypnotics, aged [ges ]65 years, were identified in 25 general practices. One hundred and four who wished to withdraw were randomly allocated to one of two groups under double-blind, placebo controlled conditions: group A's BZD dose was tapered from week 1 of the trial; group B were given their usual dose for 12 weeks and then it was tapered. An additional group (C) of 35 patients who did not wish to withdraw from BZDs participated as ‘continuers’. All patients were assessed at 0, 12 and 24 weeks and 50% were re-assessed at 52 weeks. Results. Sixty per cent of patients had taken BZDs continuously for >10 years; 27% for >20 years. Of all patients beginning the trial, 80% had successfully withdrawn 6 months later. There was little difference between groups A and B, but these groups differed from continuers (C) in that the performance of the withdrawers on several cognitive/psychomotor tasks showed relative improvements at 24 or 52 weeks. Withdrawers and continuers did not differ in sleep or BZD withdrawal symptoms. Conclusions. These results have clear implications for clinical practice. Withdrawal from BZDs produces some subtle cognitive advantages for older people, yet little in the way of withdrawal symptoms or emergent sleep difficulties. These findings also suggest that, taken long-term, BZDs do not aid sleep.