Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Oil and portfolio risk diversification

The growing presence of financial operators in the oil market has brought about the diffusion of techniques - such as feedback trading - which lead to departures of prices from their fundamental values and increase their variability. Oil price changes are here associated with changes in stocks, bonds and effective USD exchange rate. The feedback trading mechanism is combined with an ICAPM scheme. This original model is estimated in a four asset CCC GARCH non linear framework, where the risk premium and the feedback trading components of the conditional means are multiplicative functions of the system’s conditional variances and covariances. The empirical analysis, which encompasses the 2008-2009 financial crisis, identifies a structural change in the year 2000. From then on oil returns tend to become more reactive to the remaining assets of the model and feedback trading more pervasive. A comparison is drawn between three and four asset minimum variance portfolios in the two sub-periods, 1992-1999 and 2000-2009. Indeed, the trade-off between risk and returns – measured here by the average return per unit of risk index – indicates that in the last decade oil diversifies away the empirical risk of our portfolio.
Growth of Mycobacterium marinum in the footpads of T-cell-depleted mice

Mycobacterium marinum strains 1218 and 1219 were inoculated into the hind footpads of T-cell-depleted specific pathogen-free C57B1/6 mice, and the growth and survival of the organisms at the site of injection, the draining popliteal lymph node, and the spleen and lung were quantitated for up to 70 days. T-cell depletion largely ablated the normal cell-mediated antituberculous response to the M. marinum population. The mice were able to control the further growth of the inoculum within the footpad only after it had reached 5 to 10 times that present in the normal controls. The high temperature-adapted strain (37 C; strain no. 1218) induced an increasing infection in the liver, spleen, and lungs of the THXB mice, and the infection eventually spread to the opposite footpad and to the tail skin. Strain 1219 gave rise to considerable systemic involvement in the THXB host despite its inability to survive at 37 C, but the size of the splenic and lung populations was considerably lower than in the 1218-infected animals. Both M. marinum infections persisted in the tissues of the T-cell-depleted mice with no indication of a cell-mediated immune response. Footpad swelling in the M. marinum-infected mice was not greatly reduced by T-cell depletion, and, if anything, tended to persist at high levels long after the swelling of the control feet had gone into a decline. On the other hand, incorporation of tritiated thymidine by cells within the infected footpads, the draining lymph node, and the spleen was considerably reduced in the T-cell-depleted host compared with control values. Late in the infection, there was a significant increase in the amount of label taken up by the cells in the footpads of the T-cell-depleted host.
Improving Cardiac Rehabilitation Attendance and Completion Through Quality Improvement Activities and a Motivational Program

PURPOSE: Recent studies have demonstrated that patients who attend more cardiac rehabilitation (CR) sessions have lower subsequent mortality rates than those who attend fewer sessions. METHODS: We analyzed the impact of several phased-in policy and process changes implemented to increase patient participation in CR. In March 2010, our CR program changed from a policy of individualizing the recommended number of CR sessions per patient to a policy that recommended all 36 CR sessions. In October 2010, we introduced a 7-minute video describing the benefits of CR. In August 2011, we introduced a motivational program that rewarded patients after every sixth CR session. The number of CR sessions attended was determined through review of billing records. Enrollment and completion were defined as attending ≥1 session and ≥30 sessions, respectively. RESULTS: We identified 1103 patients sequentially enrolled in CR between May 2009 and January 2012. Overall, the median number of sessions per patient improved from 12 to 20 (P < .001). Completion rate improved from 14% to 39% (P < .001). The motivational program increased attendance by a median of 3 sessions per patient (P = .04), but this effect was limited to local CR participants. Financial analysis suggested that for every $100 spent on motivational rewards, patients attended an additional 6.6 (95% CI, −1 to 14) sessions of CR. CONCLUSIONS: Quality improvement activities significantly increased CR participation. Wide implementation of such programs may favorably impact patient participation in CR and potentially decrease the rate of subsequent cardiac events.
Judging the probability of a contingent loss: An empirical study*

This paper reports the results of research in which experienced auditors interpreted the criteria of Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 5 (SFAS 5): Accounting for Contingencies. The research focuses on two issues: (1) the nature and degree of consensus in the auditors' interpretations, and (2) the extent to which these interpretations depend upon the type of contingent loss. Forty-five experienced auditors (managers, principals, and partners) from “Big 8” CPA firms responded to a research instrument that elicited their interpretation of SFAS 5 probability criteria. Our analysis focuses upon the thresholds between the “remote” and “reasonably possible” criteria and between the “reasonably possible” and “probable” criteria. Our results indicate: (1) threshold means of 0.16 and 0.68, respectively; (2) more auditor consensus for the first threshold than for the second; (3) the first threshold was significantly lower than indicated by previous research; and (4) the thresholds were generally not dependent upon the type of contingent loss.
The Term Structure of Euro-Rates: Some Evidence in Support of the Expectations Hypothesis

This paper studies 1, 3, 6 and 12-month Euro-rates for 17 countries using between 10 and 30 years of data. Term spreads contain information about future short-term rates in all 51 regressions that we estimate. Furthermore, in 35 cases we accept the expectations hypothesis. Using cross-sectional regressions, we estimate the variance of the term premium and the correlation of the term premium and the expected change in short rates. The estimates are compatible with existing informal estimates. We conclude that, despite the presence of a timevarying term premium, for many countries the expectations hypothesis is broadly compatible with the data.
Genetic and epigenetic inactivation of tax gene in adult T‐cell leukemia cells

To clarify the status of tax gene, we analyzed human T‐cell leukemia virus type‐I (HTLV‐I) associated cell lines and fresh adult T‐cell leukemia (ATL) cells. We compared 2 types of HTLV‐I associated cell lines: one was derived from leukemic cells (leukemic cell line) and the other from nonleukemic cells (nonleukemic cell line). Although all nonleukemic cell lines expressed Tax, it could not be detected in 3 of 5 leukemic cell lines, in which nonsense mutation or deletion (60 bp) of tax genes, and DNA methylation in 5′‐LTR were identified as the responsible changes. We found such genetic changes of the tax gene in 5 of 47 fresh ATL cases (11%). The tax gene transcripts could be detected in 14 of 41 fresh ATL cases (34%) by RT‐PCR. In ATL cases with genetic changes that could not produce Tax protein, the tax gene was frequently transcribed, suggesting that such cells do not need the transcriptional silencing. Although DNA methylation of 5′‐LTR was detected in the fresh ATL cases (19 of 28 cases; 68%), the complete methylation associated with transcriptional silencing was observed only in 4 cases. Since partial methylation could not silence the transcription, and the tax gene transcription was not detected in 27 of 41 cases (66%), the epigenetic change(s) other than DNA methylation is considered to play an important role in the silencing. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The correlation between occlusal characteristics and temporomandibular dysfunction in Saudi Arabian children.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between the different occlusal characteristics and signs and symptoms of temporomandibular dysfunction (TMD) in children with primary dentition in the western region of Saudi Arabia. A total of group of 502 children 4-6 years old residing in the city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia provided the data for analysis. The result of this study showed significant correlation between signs and symptoms of TMD and some of the occlusal characteristics including posterior crossbite (P < 0.05), edge to edge (P < 0.013), anterior openbite (P < .036) and class III canine relationship and as well as asymmetrical canine relationship (P < .048 and P < .046 respectively). On the other hand, no correlation was reported between signs and symptoms of TMD and the remaining occlusal characteristics. The lack of significant correlation between TMD and some of the occlusal variants could be attributed to sampling and methodology differences. However, the present study supported the previous conclusion that temporomandibular dysfunction is multifactorial and highlights the importance of early intervention to prevent further consequences to the TMD and permanent occlusion.
Corporate Governance, Legal System, and Stock Market Liquidity: Evidence Around the World

This study shows that firms in the common law countries tend to have better corporate governance structures and greater stock market liquidity than firms in civil law countries. Stock market liquidity is greater for firms with a superior governance structure regardless of the legal origins of the relevant country (i.e., in both common and civil law countries), than for firms with an inferior governance structure. Our findings suggest that legal and regulatory environments for protecting shareholders at the country level and good corporate governance at the firm level are complementary because strong shareholder protection rights reinforce the effectiveness of corporate governance in improving stock market liquidity.
Farmers facing rapid agricultural land condition changes in two villages in the Upper Amazon, Peru: can action learning contribute to resilience?

The article presents findings of local experimentation for managing land degradation problems in swidden farming, and the institutional setting for such experimental activities within a resilience theory framework. By using action research (AR) methodology, which included in-depth interviews and joint field experiments, the research process facilitated collective learning related to land degradation management. Framed by a local institution (choba choba), learning situations of field experimentation were created in order to speed up the joint learning process between farmers, a local NGO and researchers. The authors argue that AR, as methodology, not only enhances contextual learning processes by working within farmers' existing institutional framework for learning, but also has the advantage of integrating local and scientific knowledge into a joint learning process. AR methodology can therefore be one answer to the question of 'how' to build up and maintain resilience of an agricultural system, particularly its adaptive capacity.
‘I'd rather keep running to the end and then jump off the cliff’. Retirement Decisions: Who Decides?

Government in the UK, as elsewhere in Europe, is keen to encourage individuals to delay their retirement, work for longer and save more for their retirement. This article argues that much of this public discussion is based on the debatable premise that most people are actively choosing to leave work ‘early’. Research on retirement decisions hitherto has concentrated on individual factors, which dispose towards early retirement and has neglected the role of the employer in determining retirement timing. New research reported here, undertaken in three organisational case studies, explores the management of retirement and how individual employees experience these processes. It employs the concepts of the ‘retirement zone’ and retirement scenarios to demonstrate how the interaction of individual attributes (themselves subject to change) and organisational practices (also unpredictable and variable) produces retirement outcomes. It concludes that there is considerable management discretion over the manner and timing of individual retirements. Hence, government needs to recognise that the majority of individuals may have relatively little personal discretion over their departure from work and hence concentration on urging them to work for longer and delay retiring may be missing the real target for policy change.
Survival of the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles: A Personal Retrospective

ABSTRACT. This paper addresses the survival story of International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (FILA) as well as personal reflections and experiences on reshaping the organization during the campaign for survival after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) removed wrestling from the program of the Olympic Games on February 2, 2013.
Chronic alcohol intake reduces retinoic acid concentration and enhances AP‐1 (c‐Jun and c‐Fos) expression in rat liver

Chronic ethanol intake may interfere with retinoid signal transduction by inhibiting retinoic acid synthesis and by enhancing activator protein‐1 (AP‐1) (c‐Jun and c‐Fos) expression, thereby contributing to malignant transformation. To determine the effect of ethanol on hepatic retinoid levels, retinoic acid receptors (RARs) and AP‐1 (c‐Jun and c‐Fos) gene expression, chronic ethanol (36% of total calorie intake) pair‐feeding was conducted on rats for a 1‐month period. Retinoic acid, retinol, and retinyl ester concentrations in both liver and plasma were examined by using high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Both retinoic acid receptor (α, β, γ) and AP‐1 (c‐Jun and c‐Fos) expression in the rat liver were examined by using Western blot analysis. Treatment with high‐dose ethanol led to a significant reduction of retinoic acid concentration in both the liver and the plasma (11‐ and 8.5‐fold reduction, respectively), as compared with animals pair‐fed an isocaloric control diet containing the same amount of vitamin A. Similar to the retinoic acid reductions, both retinol and retinyl palmitate levels in the livers of the alcohol‐fed group decreased significantly, but in smaller fold reduction (6.5‐ and 2.6‐fold reduction, respectively). Ethanol did not modulate the expression of RARα, ‐β, and ‐γ genes in the liver. However, chronic alcohol feeding enhanced AP‐1 (c‐Jun and c‐Fos) expression by 7‐ to 8‐fold, as compared with the control group. These data suggest that functional down‐regulation of RARs by inhibiting biosynthesis of retinoic acid and up‐regulation of AP‐1 gene expression may be important mechanisms for causing malignant transformation by ethanol.
Implementation of a multivibrational medical device to assist the removal of teeth and roots

The standard practice of dental extraction is performed using rigid instruments in a process involving high mechanical strength and a post-operative painful for patients. This work presents the stages of design and development of an instrument capable of acting in the most critical phase of the process, with induction of vibration at high frequencies, and it is expected to decrease the required the extraction force to perform as well as damages caused by the present procedure.
Service quality, client satisfaction and loyalty towards audit firms: Perceptions of Malaysian public listed companies

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between audit service quality, client satisfaction and loyalty to the audit firms. SERVQUAL model was used to measure the perceptions and expectations of public listed companies on the services received from audit firms.Design/methodology/approach – The five dimensions of SERVQUAL, i.e. reliability, assurance, tangibility, empathy and responsiveness was used to measure the service quality of audit firms. The research was conducted using primary data. Questionnaires were sent to 500 public listed companies listed in Bursa Saham Malaysia for year 2005.Findings – The public listed companies were satisfied with the tangible dimension but were dissatisfied with the other four dimensions. The most dissatisfied dimension was empathy. Customer satisfaction was found to partially mediate the relationship of reliability and customer loyalty.Research limitations/implications – The small sample size is a limitation of the study. Also, the study examin.
Adaptive monitoring of marine disasters with intelligent mobile sensor networks

Accidents and sabotages are kinds of environmental disasters that constitute a growing threat to marine ecosystems. Recent events disclosed to the public audience the importance of developing methodologies and systems that can accurately and continuously monitor such events. Sensor networks have been successfully applied to early warning and environmental monitoring both in terrestrial and marine contexts. In this paper we propose an architecture for continuous monitoring of marine disasters. After the detection of suspect substances in a sea area by means of its concentration in water, the first goal of this approach is to follow the contour of actual affected area by means of reconfigurable sensor networks and a centralized intelligent system. Such systems are able to estimate substance concentrations (functions that variate in space and time) by means of advanced geostatistical techniques, mobile sensor devices and evolutionary computing.
Knowledge creation and its place in the development of sustainable competitive advantage

Organizations operate in all areas through people and it is their contribution which determines success and it is their skills and knowledge which need to be cultivated and then leveraged to create competitive advantage. Sustainability of this competitive advantage comes from the development of tightly coordinated and complementary activities and directed towards producing a strategy of differentiation and making a unique offering to customers. A consistency in strategic direction is essential and this will necessitate the exercise of choice to develop a unique strategy. The development of sustainable competitive advantage is a vital management function and an important requirement is the nurturing of a knowledge creating environment to enable the organization to exploit and develop resources better than rivals and create sufficient knowledge to address the industry’s future success factors.
Variant MYST4‐CBP gene fusion in a t(10;16) acute myeloid leukaemia

We report a novel fusion of the MYST4 and CBP genes in an acute myeloid leukaemia (AML)‐M4 patient exhibiting t(10;16)(q22;p13) and t(11;17)(q23;q21). The t(10;16)(q22;p13) resulted in a rearrangement, where MYST4‐CBP and CBP‐MYST4 chimaeric transcripts were products of in‐frame fusions of MYST4 exon 17 to CBP exon 6 and CBP exon 4 to MYST4 exon 18 respectively. The potential resulting chimaeric proteins showed similarities with MYST3‐CBP, MYST3‐P300 and MYST3‐NCOA2 putative fusion proteins found in other cases of AML.
UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository) Behavioral determinants of nonprofit board performance: the case of supervisory boards in Dutch secondary education

There is an increased awareness that the performance of boards (good governance) is not only determined by structural determinants but by behavioral determinants as well. These behavioral determinants might be particularly important for public and nonprofit governance, where the role of the board is more diffuse and heterogeneous than in corporate governance. Here we investigate how social dynamics within boards in secondary education influence their performance. We follow a concise model that includes cognitive conflict, the use of expertise, effort norms, and social cohesion as determinants of board task performance. A survey among all secondary schools in the Netherlands serves as the empirical underpinning for this process-oriented model of good governance. We show that the behavioral determinants have different effects on the control task and advice task of boards. Also, we find that cognitive conflicts in supervisory boards do not lead to less but rather to more social cohesion within boards. Building on these findings, we suggest a revised model of the behavioral determinants of nonprofit board performance.
The Effects of Unions on Resource Allocation

THE purpose of this paper is to suggest in highly condensed form the general order of magnitude of the effects of unions and collective bargaining on the allocation of resources. It is widely accepted that unions have the power to raise wages in the establishments where they have bargaining rights. (The term "wages" should be understood to include fringe benefits.) This power comes from their ability to impose costs on management through strikes, slowdowns, or other pressure tactics which, in the short run, are greater than the costs of the wage increases provided through collective bargaining. By changes in relative wages we shall mean changes in wages in establishments covered by collective bargaining relative to wages elsewhere. For the discussion of resource allocation it is not necessary to specify how much of the relative increase arises from an absolute increase in union wages and how much from any possible decrease in nonunion wages. (Such a decrease could occur if labor were displaced from the union sector by rising wages and were therefore in more plentiful supply to the nonunion sector.) The existence of a relative wage effect implies the existence of a relative employment effect. If blue-collar labor is made more expensive in the union sector, management will have added incentives to save such labor through closer supervision and through the use of additional labor-saving capital equipment. Such substitution will minimize, but not eliminate, the addition to cost created by union wage gains. The remaining addition to average unit costs will tend to increase the price of final products and services produced in the union sector and therefore to reduce their consumption. Relative employment in the union sector should therefore decline for two reasons: (a) the substitution of other factors of production for union labor and (b) the substitution by consumers of cheaper final products and services for the more expensive output of the union sector. Whether these effects are empirically important depends on the size of the relevant elasticities of substitution and of demand.
Interaction of the Nck Adapter Protein with p21-activated Kinase (PAK1)*

The p21-activated kinases (PAKs) link G protein-coupled receptors and growth factor receptors (S. Dharmawardhane, R. H. Daniels, and G. M. Bokoch, submitted for publication) to activation of MAP kinase cascades and to cytoskeletal reorganization (M. A. Sells, U. G. Knaus, D. Ambrose, S. Bagrodia, G. M. Bokoch, and J. Chernoff, submitted for publication). The proteins that interact with PAK to mediate its cellular effects and to couple it to upstream receptors are unknown. We describe here a specific interaction of the Nck adapter molecule with PAK1 both in vitro and in vivo. PAK1 and Nck associate in COS-7 and Swiss 3T3 cells constitutively, but this interaction is strengthened upon platelet-derived growth factor receptor stimulation. We show that Nck binds to PAK1 through its second Src homology 3 (SH3) domain, while PAK1 interacts with Nck via the first proline-rich SH3 binding motif at its amino terminus. The interaction of active PAK1 with Nck leads to the phosphorylation of Nck at multiple sites. Association of Nck with PAK1 may serve to link this important regulatory kinase to cell activation by growth factor receptors.