Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Affiliate Directors and Perceived Risk Bearing in Publicly Traded, Family–Controlled Firms: The Case of Diversification

The present study examines the influence exerted by affiliate directors in the diversification decisions of family–controlled, publicly traded firms. Using a relational view based on the development of social capital, we argue that affiliate directors play a different role in boards of family firms vis–à–vis nonfamily firms. Specifically, we develop a set of hypotheses proposing that affiliate directors stimulate family firms to pursue diversification strategies by sharing their knowledge and experience with family executives, and hence reducing the perceived risk that may be associated with growth strategies. Affiliates can play this advisory role without reducing the control of family owners, and this facilitates the firm's willingness to adopt growth–oriented strategies. Namely, affiliates who are business experts or support specialists would tend to encourage diversification. These effects are supported empirically.
From School to Work: A Comparative Study of Educational Qualifications and Occupational Destinations.

1. The institutional embededness of the stratification process: a comparative study of qualifications and occupations in thirteen countries 2. The transition from school to work in Australia 3. Education and occupation in Britain 4. From education to first job: the French case 6. Investment in education: educational qualifications and class of entry in the Republic of Ireland 7. The transition from school to work in Israel 8. Occupational returns to education in contemporary Italy 9. Educational credentials and labour market entry outcomes in Japan 10. From high school and college to work in Japan - meritocracy through institutional and semi-institutional linkages 11. Education and early occupation in the Netherlands around 1990: categorical and continous scales and the details of a relationship 12. Allocation processes in the Swedish labour market 13. The transition from school to work in Switzerland: do characteristics of the educational system and class barriers matter? 14. The transition from school to work in Taiwan 15. The early returns: the transition from school to work in the United States
Erythropoietin in the Treatment of Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome

Erythropoietin has been reported to improve symptoms of orthostatic intolerance in patients suffering from orthostatic hypotension. Previous reports on the use of erythropoietin in patients with postural orthostatic tachycardia (POTS) have included only a very small number of patients. In the current study, we report on the use of erythropoietin in patients with refractory POTS. The study was approved by the institutional review board. A retrospective nonrandomized analysis was performed on 39 patients evaluated at our autonomic center for POTS from 2003 to 2010. The diagnosis of POTS was based on patient history, physical examination, and response to head-up tilt-table testing. The mean follow-up period was 6 months. The patients were included in the current study if they had a diagnosis of POTS with severe symptoms of orthostatic intolerance and were refractory to the commonly used medications. All these patients were started on erythropoietin, and the response to therapy was considered successful if it provided symptomatic relief. We screened 200 patients with POTS and found 39 patients (age 33 ± 12, 37 females) to be eligible for inclusion in the current study. The response to the treatment was assessed subjectively in each patient and was obtained in a retrospective fashion from patient charts and physician communications. Eight (21%) patients demonstrated no improvement in symptoms after administration of erythropoietin. Three (8%) patients showed an improvement in symptoms of orthostatic intolerance of <3 months. Twenty-seven (71%) patients demonstrated sustained improvement in their symptoms of orthostatic intolerance at the mean follow-up of 6 months. Erythropoietin significantly improved sitting diastolic blood pressure but had no effect on other hemodynamic parameters. In a select group of POTS patients who are refractory to commonly used medications, erythropoietin may help improve symptoms of orthostatic intolerance.
A Novel Supercell-Based Dielectric Grating Dual-Beam Leaky-Wave Antenna for 60-GHz Applications

This communication proposes a novel dual-beam dielectric grating antenna based on the supercell (SC) concept. Through the theoretical analysis of the effective phase constants of the SC, it is found that two space harmonic modes (m = -1 and m = -2) can be simultaneously excited (above the air line) within a certain frequency range. This phenomenon leads to the generation of two radiation beams in the far-field region. At the frequency where the phase constants satisfy β-1 = -β-2, the two beams are in symmetric directions with respect to the axis that is perpendicular to the azimuth plane. Different from the conventional periodic structures that the m = -2 mode lacks well control, the proposed antenna can manipulate both modes and obtain equal performance for the two radiation beams. In this communication, the symmetric beam case is investigated. The detailed design principle is presented. In addition, the frequency-based beam steering characteristic that the two beams scan in the same clockwise or anticlockwise direction is discussed as well. The proposed antenna operates in 60-GHz band and it can be a good candidate for the WiGig application.
Poles Apart?: EU Enlargement and the Labour Market Outcomes of Immigrants in the United Kingdom

The United Kingdom was one of only three countries to allow migrants from accession countries to enter their labour markets more or less without restriction following European Union enlargement in May 2004. Therefore, it is important to establish the characteristics and labour market performance of migrants from these countries who have subsequently entered the United Kingdom. We principally analyse Labour Force Survey data to compare the labour market outcomes of recent migrants from Poland and other accession countries to those of earlier migrant cohorts from these countries as well as to those of other recent migrants to the United Kingdom. We find that the majority of post-enlargement migrants from the new member states have found employment in low paying jobs, despite some (especially Poles) possessing relatively high levels of education. It follows that recent Polish migrants typically have lower returns to their education than other recent arrivals. Migrants from the new member states who arrived immediately prior to enlargement have similar characteristics and labour market outcomes, apart from displaying a higher propensity to be self-employed. These results are discussed in the context of policy changes, migration strategies, assimilation effects and possible impacts on the sending countries.
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES AND CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR) IN NIGERIA NIGER DELTA REGION: THE NEED FOR A PRAGMATIC APPROACH

This study undertakes a critical assessment of the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) as being pursued by oil multinational corporations, in the wake of environmental problems and social activism that has continued to bedevil the development and economic growth in the Niger Delta Region. The central thesis of this paper argues that the brand of corporate social responsibility that is currently carried out by these oil multinational corporations has done little or nothing in ameliorating the sufferings of the inhabitants of the Niger Delta Region. Rather it has polarized the people into warring groups and has greatly created division among them. This is because the deliberate exemption of environmental related issues likes gas flaring and oil spillage from their corporate social responsibility agenda has been the primary reason why in spite of their dedicated commitment to some infrastructural projects, the problem of conflict and poverty has become intensified. In light of the above this paper recommends that there is a dire need to incorporate environmental related problems into the agenda of these multinationals social responsibility as these will go a long way in addressing the economic and environmental problems of the people of the region and also reduce violence and conflicts which has continue to hamper development in
Limits‐to‐arbitrage and asset growth anomaly in Chinese stock market

Purpose - This paper makes attempt to test the firm-level long-term asset growth (LAG) effects in returns by examining the cross-sectional relation between firm-level LAG and subsequent abnormal stock returns. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether limits-to-arbitrage can explain this asset growth anomaly in Chinese stock market. Design/methodology/approach - Empirical research was carried out. Findings - The empirical results show that asset growth anomaly in A-share stock market is significant and robust. The conclusion provides more evidence for the existence of asset growth anomaly. Additionally, arbitrage risk indicated by idiosyncratic risk cannot explain the anomaly, arbitrage risk indicated by accounting information transparency can partly explain the anomaly, and arbitrage cost proxied by Amihud's measure of illiquidity indicator can completely explain the asset growth anomaly in A-share stock market. Research limitations/implications - The results of this paper imply that strengthening the disclosure of firm information and improving the liquidity of the market are important to improve the efficiency of the A-share stock market. Originality/value - The paper selects the sample of non-financial listed companies in A-share stock market to research the asset growth anomaly and investigates whether limits-to-arbitrage can explain this anomaly. This paper proves the existence of asset growth anomaly in A-share stock market and is a good reference for further researches.
Respiratory Effects of the Nociceptin/Orphanin FQ Peptide and Opioid Receptor Agonist, Cebranopadol, in Healthy Human Volunteers

Background: Cebranopadol is a novel strong analgesic that coactivates the nociceptin/orphanin FQ receptor and classical opioid receptors. There are indications that activation of the nociceptin/orphanin FQ receptor is related to ceiling in respiratory depression. In this phase 1 clinical trial, we performed a pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic study to quantify cebranopadol’s respiratory effects. Methods: Twelve healthy male volunteers received 600 &mgr;g oral cebranopadol as a single dose. The following main endpoints were obtained at regular time intervals for 10 to 11 h after drug intake: ventilation at an elevated clamped end-tidal pressure of carbon dioxide, pain threshold and tolerance to a transcutaneous electrical stimulus train, and plasma cebranopadol concentrations. The data were analyzed using sigmoid Emax (respiration) and power (antinociception) models. Results: Cebranopadol displayed typical opioid-like effects including miosis, analgesia, and respiratory depression. The blood-effect-site equilibration half-life for respiratory depression and analgesia was 1.2 ± 0.4 h (median ± standard error of the estimate) and 8.1 ± 2.5 h, respectively. The effect-site concentration causing 50% respiratory depression was 62 ± 4 pg/ml; the effect-site concentration causing 25% increase in currents to obtain pain threshold and tolerance was 97 ± 29 pg/ml. The model estimate for minimum ventilation was greater than zero at 4.9 ± 0.7 l/min (95% CI, 3.5 to 6.6 l/min). Conclusions: At the dose tested, cebranopadol produced respiratory depression with an estimate for minimum ventilation greater than 0 l/min. This is a major advantage over full &mgr;-opioid receptor agonists that will produce apnea at high concentrations. Further clinical studies are needed to assess whether such behavior persists at higher doses.
Context-Dependence of Auditors' Interpretations of the SFAS No. 5 Probability Expressions*

Abstract. Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) No. 5 requires accrual of contingent losses which are deemed probable. This disclosure criterion is intended to be applied uniformly across a variety of contexts. We performed an experiment which examined whether audit managers' interpretations of the SFAS No. 5 probability expressions are influenced by one contextual feature, event base rate. Counter to the intention of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), interpretations of the expression probable were positively associated with event base rate. RA©sumA©. Le SFAS no 5 exige l'imputation A l'exercice des pertes A©ventuelles qui sont jugA©es Â«probablesÂ». La rA¨gle ainsi A©tablie veut que ce critA¨re de prA©sentation d'information soit appliquA© uniformA©ment dans des contextes trA¨s divers. Les auteurs procA¨dent A une expA©rience dans le cadre de laquelle ils examinent si la faA§on dont les responsables de mission interprA¨tent la gamme de probabilitA©s, au sens du SFAS no 5, est influencA©e par une caractA©ristique contextuelle, la frA©quence relative de l'A©vA©nement. Contrairement au rA©sultat visA© par le FASB, les interprA©tations du terme Â«probableÂ» sont en relation positive avec la frA©quence relative de l'A©vA©nement.
Hierarchical subband linear predictive cepstral (HSLPC) features for HMM-based speech recognition

A new approach for linear prediction (LP) analysis is explored, where predictor can be computed from a mel-warped subband-based autocorrelation functions obtained from the power spectrum. For spectral representation a set of multi-resolution cepstral features are proposed. The general idea is to divide up the full frequency-band into several subbands, perform the IDFT on the mel power spectrum for each subband, followed by Durbin's algorithm and the standard conversion from LP to cepstral coefficients. This approach can be extended to several levels of different resolutions. Multi-resolution feature vectors, formed by concatenation of the subband cepstral features into an extended feature vector, are shown to yield better performance than the conventional mel-warped LPCCs over the full voice-bandwidth for a connected digit recognition task.
Understanding the foreign policy of autocratic actors: ideology or pragmatism? Russia and the Tymoshenko trial as a case study

While the literature on the autocratic regimes has been rapidly growing in the last years, there still exists a research gap in this field: which impact do autocratic regimes have on the regime transition in the neighbouring countries? The literature on autocracies has demonstrated that autocratic political leaders tend to support each other. This article argues that the external influence of an autocracy may be more complex. The article analyses the case of Russia's international standing in relation to the trial of Yulia Tymoshenko. Using detailed process tracing, it has been shown that in terms of the Russian position, pragmatic goals may undermine ideological goals. Thus, while the main objective of Russia is to ensure the stability of gas contracts, the unintended consequences of its actions undermine the consolidation of autocratic regime in Ukraine. The article builds on the literature on regime transition, autocracy, and international relations.
Impact of isolated systolic hypertension on normalization of left ventricular structure during antihypertensive treatment (the LIFE study)

Abstract Objective. We tested the impact of isolated systolic hypertension (ISH) on normalization of left ventricular (LV) structure during antihypertensive treatment. Methods. Baseline and annual echocardiograms were recorded in 873 hypertensive patients with electrocardiographic signs of LV hypertrophy during 4.8 years randomized losartan- or atenolol-based antihypertensive treatment in the Losartan Intervention For Endpoint (LIFE) reduction in hypertension study and classified as having ISH (n = 128) if systolic BP ≥ 160 mmHg and diastolic BP < 90 mmHg, or non-ISH divided into two groups by systolic BP ≥ 160 mmHg (non-ISH ≥ 160 mmHg) (n = 645) and systolic BP < 160 mm Hg (n = 100) (non-ISH < 160 mmHg), respectively. Results. Patients with ISH were older, with higher prevalence of diabetes than non-ISH groups and higher pulse pressure/stroke volume index (all p < 0.05). Baseline systolic blood pressure (BP) differed between groups and was highest in the non-ISH ≥ 160 mmHg group (p < 0.05). Systolic BP reduction was less in the ISH group (p < 0.05). LV geometry did not differ between ISH and non-ISH ≥ 160 mmHg groups at baseline, but ISH had more residual LV hypertrophy of concentric type at the last study visit (p < 0.05). In multivariate analysis, less reduction of LV mass was predicted by ISH (β = − 0.07) independent of significant associations with baseline LVMi (β = 0.52) and atenolol-based treatment (β = − 0.08) and clinical confounders (all p < 0.05). Conclusions. ISH is associated with impaired normalization of LV mass during systematic antihypertensive treatment. The findings may help explain the higher cardiovascular event rate previously reported in ISH patients.
Combined genetic profiles of components and regulators of the vitamin K-dependent γ-carboxylation system affect individual sensitivity to warfarin

Summary We examined the influence of combined genotypes on interindividual variability in warfarin dose-response. In 100 anticoagulated patients we quantified the effects of polymorphisms in: CYP2C9, VKORC1, calumenin (CALU), γ-glutamyl carboxylase (GGCX) and microsomal epoxide hydrolase (EPHX1) on warfarin dose requirements. The G1542C VKORC1 polymorphism was associated with decreased warfarin doses in the heteroand homozygous mutant patients (21% and 50% lower, respectively; p<0.0001). Warfarin daily dose was predominantly determined by VKORC1 and CYP2C9 genotypes (partial r2= 0.21; 0.20, respectively). Together with age and body weight, these two genotypes explained 63% of the dose variance. A single patient, homozygous for G11A CALU mutant allele, required an excep tionally high warfarin dose (20mg/day) and the prevalence of heterozygous 11A allele carriers in the upper 10th dose percentile was significantly higher (0.27 vs. 0.18, p<0.02). Combined genotype analysis revealed that CYP2C9 andVKORC1 wild type and CALU mutant patients required the highest warfarin doses (7. 8±1. 5mg/day; n=9) as compared to the CYP2C9 and VKORC1 mutant and CALU wild type genotypes (2. 8±0. 3mg/day; n=18; p<0.01). The odds ratio for doses <3mg/day was 5. 9 (1.9–18. 4) for this genotype. Compound genetic profiles comprising VKORC1, CALU and CYP2C9 improve categorization of individual warfarin dose requirements in more than 25% of patients at steady-state anticoagulation.
Haptic Rendering & Perception Studies For Laparoscopic Surgery Simulation

This project concerns the application of haptic feedback to a virtual reality laparoscopic surgery simulator. Haptic attributes such as mass, friction, stiction, elasticity, roughness and viscosity are individually modeled, validated and applied to the existing visual simulation created by researchers at Monash University. Validation studies has shown that refinements to our mechanical interface improves the accuracy of localisation by 25%. Using our mechanical interface, the JND (Just Noticeable Difference) for instantaneous change of magnitude of haptic attributes is approximately 12%. This suggests the mechanical interface is suitable to use for surgery based studies. There are times in surgery when the view from the camera cannot be depended upon. When visual feedback is impeded, haptic feedback must be relied upon more by the surgeon. A realistic simulator should include some sort of visual impedance. Results from a simple tissue holding task suggested the inclusion of haptic feedback in a simulator aids the user when visual feedback is impeded. Haptic force feedback modeling, systems implementation, threshold and level perception, and validation studies form the principal areas of new work associated with this project
Scratchpad memory based power efficient optimization for MPSoC

With the development of semiconductor technology, more modules are integrated onto a single chip. Multiprocessor system-on-chip (MPSoC) is such circuit with multiple embedded processor cores on chip. It provides high parallelism with multi-threads through the multiple cores. Memory system is still the bottleneck of the performance and power-consumption of MPSoC systems. Scratchpad memory (SPM), which is software-controlled on-chip memory without extra tags, is used on MPSoC chips. SPM has low power-consumption and high efficiency compared to cache. However, the SPM requirements from different cores will be also different. How to balance the utilization of SPM is still a challenge. In this paper, we propose a new technique for SPM allocation on demand to reduce the power consumption and improve the performance of MPSoC. SPM will be shared under special constrains. Experimental results show that our approach can reduce both the execution time and the energy consumption effectively.
No Safe Place to Go LGBTQ Youth Homelessness in Canada: Reviewing the Literature

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth are overrepresented in the homeless youth population in North America. This review brings together the literature on the topic of LGBTQ youth homelessness and provides a comprehensive overview of the unique needs of this population, as well as gaps and barriers to support. The review culminates in recommendations for support services and further research on this topic. This review should be particularly useful for youth shelter and service providers, and policy makers to respond to the needs of this population and to enhance knowledge in this area more broadly.
A Comparative Analysis of South Africa as a Semi-Industrialised Developing Country

South Africa has neither a developed nor a typical underdeveloped economy. Too often it has been wrongly classified, along with, say, Australia and New Zealand, as one of the peripheral developed countries, because only a part of the economy and population have the characteristics we associate with that group. Yet its economy is distinctly different from others in sub-Saharan Africa. South Africa falls squarely into the category which the World Bank classifies as ‘upper middle-income’ developing economies, with G.N. P. per capita in 1982 ranging from $2,000 to $7,000 and averaging $2,500, thereby including South Africa, with $2,700.1 (By contrast, Kenya's G.N.P. per capita was $400 and Britain's $10,000). The World Bank's group includes Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, South Korea, Venezuela, and Yugoslavia. South Africa shares many structural economic characteristics with these semi-industrialised countries.