Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
LEVERAGE, RISK OF RUIN AND THE COST OF CAPITAL*

THE QUESTION of the optimal capital structure of the business firm has attracted considerable attention by economists in recent years. In their wellknown article of 1958, Modigliani and Miller [1] argued that "the average cost of capital to any firm is completely independent of its capital structure and is equal to the capitalization rate of a pure equity stream of its class. " This proposition is based on assumptions of no corporate income taxes, perfect capital markets, no transactions costs and independence between the anticipated stream of net operating earnings and the capital structure of the firm. When account is taken of the deductibility of interest payments from corporate-tax liabilities, Modigliani and Miller conclude that the use of borrowed funds reduces the cost of capital to the corporation. ' Solomon [3, p. 103] has suggested that "the Modigliani-Miller proposition amended to take the tax deductibility of interest into account would postulate that . the recipe for optimal leverage . is that companies ought to be financed 99.9 per cent with pure debt! "2 Such a conclusion, however, has little intuitive appeal because of the risks normally associated with servicing and refinancing outstanding debt.3 And we know that in the real world it is impossible to obtain debt financing unless creditors believe that there is a sufficient equity cushion. Once the "acceptable" amount of leverage has been passed, the rate of interest on debt will begin to rise and may cause the cost of capital for the overlevered firm to increase. The purpose of the present paper is to explain, in the context of the Modigliani and Miller discussion, how excessive leverage can be expected to raise the cost of capital to the firm. It is argued that when account is taken of "risk of ruin," a rising average cost of capital is perfectly consistent with rational arbitrage operations. Allowing for the possibility of bankruptcy is tantamount to relaxing the assumption that the anticipated stream of operating earnings is independent of capital structure. In the first section the influence of the risk of
National Nuclear Third Party Insurance Pools Revisited from a European Union Competition Law Perspective

Currently, the European nuclear private insurance sector is structured in pools, and each and every pool is organised along national lines. This article analyses the rule of reason behind the principle of streamlining nuclear insurance pools along national lines. It examines how European Union (EU) competition law has applied to the nuclear private insurance sector to date and to what extent changes are likely to occur in the light of recent developments, inter alia the new insurance block exemption. The article goes on to examine whether there is a risk that the apparent national partitioning of the nuclear third party insurance sector might be questioned as to its sustainability in the long term from a competition law perspective.
Treating severe and enduring anorexia nervosa: a randomized controlled trial

Background There are no evidence-based treatments for severe and enduring anorexia nervosa (SE-AN). This study evaluated the relative efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT-AN) and specialist supportive clinical management (SSCM) for adults with SE-AN. Method Sixty-three participants with a diagnosis of AN, who had at least a 7-year illness history, were treated in a multi-site randomized controlled trial (RCT). During 30 out-patient visits spread over 8 months, they received either CBT-AN or SSCM, both modified for SE-AN. Participants were assessed at baseline, end of treatment (EOT), and at 6- and 12-month post-treatment follow-ups. The main outcome measures were quality of life, mood disorder symptoms and social adjustment. Weight, eating disorder (ED) psychopathology, motivation for change and health-care burden were secondary outcomes. Results Thirty-one participants were randomized to CBT-AN and 32 to SSCM with a retention rate of 85% achieved at the end of the study. At EOT and follow-up, both groups showed significant improvement. There were no differences between treatment groups at EOT. At the 6-month follow-up, CBT-AN participants had higher scores on the Weissman Social Adjustment Scale (WSAS; p = 0.038) and at 12 months they had lower Eating Disorder Examination (EDE) global scores (p = 0.004) and higher readiness for recovery (p = 0.013) compared to SSCM. Conclusions Patients with SE-AN can make meaningful improvements with both therapies. Both treatments were acceptable and high retention rates at follow-up were achieved. Between-group differences at follow-up were consistent with the nature of the treatments given.
The Audit Expectations Gap in Britain: An Empirical Investigation

Abstract This paper reports the results of a postal questionnaire survey to ascertain the perceptions of individuals about audit expectations issues in Britain, including: what the role of the auditor is and should be; what prohibitions and regulations should be placed on audit firms; and what decisions auditors could be expected to make in a series of mini-cases. The questionnaire also included a semantic differential testing instrument which, through factor analysis, provides evidence about what different groups of individuals perceive to be the key attributes of auditing activity. The survey included chartered accountants in public practice, corporate finance directors, investment analysts, bank lending officers and financial journalists.
Terra MODIS on-orbit spatial characterization and performance

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Proto-Flight Model, onboard the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Earth Observing System Terra spacecraft, has been in operation for over four years. It has 36 spectral bands and a total of 490 detectors located on four focal plane assemblies (FPAs). MODIS makes observations at three spatial resolutions (nadir): 0.25 km (bands 1-2), 0.5 km (bands 3-7), and 1 km (bands 8-36). The instrument's spatial characterization was measured prelaunch using an integration and alignment collimator. Parameters measured included the detectors' instantaneous field-of-view (IFOV), band-to-band registration (BBR), and line spread function in both the along-scan and along-track directions. On-orbit, the spatial characterization is periodically measured using the onboard spectro-radiometric calibration assembly (SRCA). This paper describes the SRCA BBR algorithms, characterization methodologies, and on-orbit results. A Fourier approach used to calculate the along-track BBR is also described. This approach enhances the algorithm's robustness in comparison with the conventional centroid approach. On-orbit results show that the Terra MODIS focal planes shifted slightly during launch and initial on-orbit operation. Since then they have been very stable. The BBR is within 0.16 km (nadir IFOV) in the along-scan direction and 0.23 km (nadir IFOV) in the along-track direction among all bands. The small but noticeable periodic variation of the on-orbit BBR can be attributed to the annual cycling of instrument temperature due to Sun-Earth distance variation. The visible FPA position has the largest temperature dependence among all FPAs, 17 m/K along-scan and 0.6 m/K along-track.
Testing a two factor APT model on Australian industry equity portfolios: the effect of intervaling

The finance literature is replete with studies using the market model (MM) and the quadratic market model (QMM) as the return generating model. An alternative model, using the quadratic market model framework, was adopted by Barone-Adesi (1985) to test a two factor APT model related to the Three moment CAPM. While the effect of intervaling on the standard market model has been well documented in the literature, evidence for these other models does not exist. Accordingly, this paper tests these three models on 23 Australian Industry Equity portfolios using daily, weekly and monthly return intervals, over the sample period January 1988 to October 1996. The results favour the APT model relative to the unrestricted MM and QMM models. These findings are robust to the return intervals used.
The Role of Small School Superintendents as Instructional Leaders.

By William J. Wadlington, Ed.D. Washington State University December 2011 Chair: Michele Acker-Hocevar A learning leader in a school district is the agent of change who can influence improvement in instruction or assessment delivery by the classroom teacher. A phenomenological approach was utilized in this qualitative study of the superintendent’s role and associated activities performed in a small school district. Five school district employees in each of three districts were interviewed to understand their perceptions of the superintendent’s roles and duties as a learning leader. Interview data, field notes and memos were coded to describe categories and framework areas common across the interview responses of the fifteen participants. Four major framework areas identified from the literature and refined during a pilot study provided structure for the analysis: (a) superintendent (principal) as learning leader, (b) teacher as learning leader, (c) outside agency as learning leader, and (d) student learning improvement—general (unidentified leader).
Vemurafenib in combination with cobimetinib in relapsed and refractory extramedullary multiple myeloma harboring the BRAF V600E mutation

BRAF mutations are present in a variety of cancers and cause constitutive activation of the Ras‐Raf–MEK‐ERK signaling pathway. In cutaneous malignant melanoma, combined treatment with BRAF and MEK inhibitors is associated with high response rates and has been shown to improve progression free as well as overall survival compared to BRAF inhibition alone.
Ca2+-induced Conformational Transition in the Inhibitory and Regulatory Regions of Cardiac Troponin I*

Cardiac muscle activation is initiated by the binding of Ca2+ to the single N-domain regulatory site of cardiac muscle troponin C (cTnC). Ca2+ binding causes structural changes between cTnC and two critical regions of cardiac muscle troponin I (cTnI): the regulatory region (cTnI-R, residues 150–165) and the inhibitory region (cTnI-I, residues130–149). These changes are associated with a decreased cTnI affinity for actin and a heightened affinity for cTnC. Using Förster resonance energy transfer, we have measured three intra-cTnI distances in the deactivated (Mg2+-saturated) and Ca2+-activated (Ca2+-saturated) states in reconstituted binary (cTnC-cTnI) and ternary (cTnC-cTnI-cTnT) troponin complexes. Distance A (spanning cTnI-R) was unaltered by Ca2+. Distances B (spanning both cTnI-R and cTnI-I) and C (from a residue flanking cTnI-I to a residue in the center of cTnI-R) exhibited Ca2+-induced increases of >8 Å. These results compliment our previous determination of the distance between residues flanking cTnI-I alone. Together, the data suggest that Ca2+activation causes residues within cTnI-I to switch from a β-turn/coil to an extended quasi-α-helical conformation as the actin-contacts are broken, whereas cTnI-R remains α-helical in both Mg2+- and Ca2+-saturated states. We have used the data to construct a structural model of the cTnI inhibitory and regulatory regions in the Mg2+- and Ca2+-saturated states.
An Analysis of Pakistan's Vulnerability to Economic Crisis

The post 9/11 scenario in Pakistan’s economy can readily be identified with a host of positive developments. Real GDP growth rates have averaged around 6 percent since 2002, stock market surges have broken all the previous records, there is much more dynamism in the banking industry, capital flows are pouring into the economy, foreign exchange reserves have swelled to record high levels, and poverty has witnessed a declining trend. However, what mars these celebrations since last year is the scepticism of some market commentators on the growing vulnerability of Pakistan’s economy to crisis. The main weakness, as widely pointed out, remains the sustainability of current account deficit along with rising fiscal imbalances. A review of empirical literature on the determinants of currency crisis introduces a host of macroeconomic fundamentals broadly based on the predictions of the seminal firstand second-generation models. Although the list of these determinants varies from study to study, the consensus appears to be on the sustainability of external and fiscal positions as the main predictors of a crisis. An overview of the Pakistani fundamentals since 2000 reveals that broadly key Pakistani economic indicators do not give an immediate cause for concern. However, the emergence of primary budget balance as a deficit and the growing trade and current account deficits in the last two years does seem to be a cause for concern. Therefore, the objective of this study is to analyse the vulnerability of Pakistan’s economy to crisis by evaluating the sustainability of its external and fiscal positions in the recent past. In particular, we focus on Masson’s (1999) model of contagion to assess Pakistan’s external position and Bohn’s (1998) fiscal sustainability regressions to evaluate Pakistan’s fiscal position. Our findings are that the Pakistani fundamentals do not present an adverse scenario as particularly indicated in the external and fiscal sustainability conditions of the recent past. The rest of the paper is organised as follows. Section 2 reviews the empirical literature on the determinants of crisis as broadly predicted by the firstand secondgeneration models. Section 3 gives an overview of the key Pakistani fundamentals since 2000. Section 4 outlines the methodologies and Section 5 gives the results. Section 6 concludes the study.
Rapid Changes of International Trade Flows Geography. An Approach Grounded on the Knowledge-Based Economy Concept

After the Second World War international merchandise trade has known an impressive rising trend: from 121 bn. USD in 1948 to 25.172 bn. USD in 2009, which means a rise by 210 times, being therefore the economic sector with the most spectacular development. International trade – considered to be the right indicator of a country’s economy – has become one of the major factors of economic development mainly due to the knowledge-based economy. Except for the economic development (translated into high levels of production and productivity, expressed by high figures of GDP), the effect of knowledge has been registered by exports, by their dynamics and high level of foreign markets penetration. It is therefore relevant that three small countries and provinces (the Netherlands, Hong Kong – province of Peoples Republic of China and Singapore) in terms of territory and population are among the first fifteen global exporters (with a percentage of exports ranging from 2,2% and 4%), in contrast with larger countries in terms of surface and population, which play an insignificant role in international trade. These small countries/provinces represent relevant models of using information technology and modern communication, fundamental elements of a knowledge-based economy. Thus, they are very competitive on the global market (the key factor of success). In this paper we argue that humankind is in a transitory phase from industrial economy to knowledge-based economy (in this sense the oil trade is a very good example, as the most traded merchandise).
Response to Letter Regarding Article, "Temporal Trends and Variation in Early Scheduled Follow-up After a Hospitalization for Heart Failure: Findings from Get With The Guidelines-Heart Failure.

We thank Dr Ezekowitz and McAlister for their interest in our work on early outpatient follow-up after a hospitalization for heart failure.1 The investigators raise an interesting question: what proportion of early follow-up appointments was planned to be with a familiar provider? A prior analysis from their group identified an association between provider continuity and improved outcomes after a hospitalization for heart failure in Canada.2 However, whether these findings extend to other settings, including the United States, are unknown. For example, in a prior analysis of Medicare beneficiaries hospitalized with heart failure, early follow-up with a physician from the index hospitalization was not associated with 30-day readmission rates.3 The question posed by these authors raises a larger issue. What are the unintended consequences, or “off-target effects,” of early follow-up? Certainly, there are financial implications for increased clinic appointments after a heart failure hospitalization, though these are presumably offset by reduced hospitalizations. Could early follow-up …
Philosophical issues in responsible investment: a care-ethical approach

Purpose – This paper aims to examine ethical investment problems related to fiduciary responsibilities. Design/methodology/approach – The present study discusses these issues from the perspective of stock investment. It identifies, validates and explains the ethical problems and possibilities concerning the principles of responsible investment. The paper focuses on, but is not restricted to, the United Nations-backed Principles for Responsible Investment. Findings – The United Nations-backed Principles for Responsible Investment give investors moral freedoms, although from the point-of-view of most moral theories, only such investments that serve the well-being of people and the environment would be ethically responsible. The legitimacy of fiduciary responsibilities is motivated by the pursuit of economic gain, which is essential for business on the one hand but ethically problematic on the other, if the “invisible hand” of the economy does not work and wealth accumulates in the hands of only a few people.
Business Model Innovation: What Can the Ambidexterity Literature Teach US?

One of the issues addressed in the growing literature on business model innovation is how to compete with two business models simultaneously. Unfortunately, this body of work lacks a theoretical foundation. I propose that the challenge of managing two different and conflicting business models simultaneously can be framed as an ambidexterity challenge. This implies that ideas and theoretical concepts from the ambidexterity literature can be used to explore issues pertinent to the business model literature. I apply this idea to explore four specific areas where the ambidexterity literature could guide research on the challenge of managing two business models simultaneously and identify several insights that can guide future research on business model innovation.
Coping with the heteroscedasticity in applied research - a comparison of three methods of food expenditure estimation in Northern Ghana's rural households

this study explores the determinants of food expenditures in northern ghana’s rural households, using a survey data collected in 2010 in the vicinity of tamale, the capital of the northern region. three estimation methods (olS, olS with robust error, and wlS) are used in empirical models to address the possible heteroscedasticity. models indicate that socio-demographic factors such as income, owning a tractor, age, and household composition are important factors in determining food expenditure. Similarly, farm features such as cultivation of staple or cash crops, the field size of groundnuts, as well as buying dry goods in bulk are also found to be major determinants. results provide useful information for both private and public sector decision makers, while supplying ample evidence of the importance of estimation method selection to generate most accurate quantified effects of individual explanatory variables on food expenditure.
Comparing Partial Least Square Approaches in a Gene- or Region-Based Association Study for Multiple Quantitative Phenotypes

ABSTRACT On thinking quantitatively of complex diseases, there are at least three statistical strategies for association studies: one single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) on a single trait, gene or region (with multiple SNPs) on a single trait, and gene or region on multiple traits. The third approach is the most general in dissecting genetic mechanisms underlying complex diseases underpinning multiple quantitative traits. Gene or region association methods based on partial least square (PLS) approaches have been shown to have apparent power advantage. However, few approaches have been developed for multiple quantitative phenotypes or traits underlying a condition or disease, and the performance of various PLS approaches used in association studies for multiple quantitative traits have not been assessed. Here we exploit association between multiple SNPs and multiple phenotypes or traits, from a regression perspective, through exhaustive scan statistics (sliding window) using PLS and sparse PLS regressions. Simulations were conducted to assess the performance of the proposed scan statistics and compare them with existing methods. The proposed methods were applied to 12 regions of genome-wide association study data from the European Prospective Investigation of Cancer-Norfolk study.
Genomic Analysis of Genotype-by-Social Environment Interaction for Drosophila melanogaster Aggressive Behavior

Human psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder often include adverse behaviors including increased aggressiveness. Individuals with psychiatric disorders often exhibit social withdrawal, which can further increase the probability of conducting a violent act. Here, we used the inbred, sequenced lines of the Drosophila Genetic Reference Panel (DGRP) to investigate the genetic basis of variation in male aggressive behavior for flies reared in a socialized and socially isolated environment. We identified genetic variation for aggressive behavior, as well as significant genotype-by-social environmental interaction (GSEI); i.e., variation among DGRP genotypes in the degree to which social isolation affected aggression. We performed genome-wide association (GWA) analyses to identify genetic variants associated with aggression within each environment. We used genomic prediction to partition genetic variants into gene ontology (GO) terms and constituent genes, and identified GO terms and genes with high prediction accuracies in both social environments and for GSEI. The top predictive GO terms significantly increased the proportion of variance explained, compared to prediction models based on all segregating variants. We performed genomic prediction across environments, and identified genes in common between the social environments that turned out to be enriched for genome-wide associated variants. A large proportion of the associated genes have previously been associated with aggressive behavior in Drosophila and mice. Further, many of these genes have human orthologs that have been associated with neurological disorders, indicating partially shared genetic mechanisms underlying aggression in animal models and human psychiatric disorders.