Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fundamental Information in Technical Trading Strategies

Technical trading strategies assume that past changes in prices help predict future changes. This makes sense if the past price trend reflects fundamental information that has not yet been fully incorporated in the current price. However, if the past price trend only reflects temporary pricing pressures, the technical trading strategy is doomed to fail. We demonstrate that this failure can be avoided by using financial statements as additional sources of information. We implement a trading strategy that invests in stocks with high past returns and high operating cash flows. This combination strategy yields a 3-factor alpha of 15% per year, which is much higher than that of the pure momentum strategy that invests in stocks with high past returns without considering operating cash flows. The combination strategy outperforms the momentum strategy in almost all years. The outperformance can be traced back to a higher probability of picking outperforming stocks. These are stocks that yield high future cash flows and hardly ever delist due to poor performance. The combination strategy is easily implemented: the information used is publicly available, the stocks chosen are liquid, and even high transaction costs do not erode the outperformance.
Is There a Connection Between Reciprocity and Tax Competition?

One challenge states face in designing income tax systems is deciding how to treat nonresident earners. Numerous states have entered into reciprocity agreements with other states that exclude nonresidents’ income from the tax base. These agreements provide a unique opportunity to explore the nature of state tax competition. The authors demonstrate that not only do reciprocity agreements allow states to have higher income tax rates than do nonreciprocity states but also that the states with reciprocity agreements exhibit increased levels of competition over other taxes.
Dystrophic Cardiomyopathy: Complex Pathobiological Processes to Generate Clinical Phenotype

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD), and X-linked dilated cardiomyopathy (XL-DCM) consist of a unique clinical entity, the dystrophinopathies, which are due to variable mutations in the dystrophin gene. Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a common complication of dystrophinopathies, but the onset, progression, and severity of heart disease differ among these subgroups. Extensive molecular genetic studies have been conducted to assess genotype-phenotype correlation in DMD, BMD, and XL-DCM to understand the underlying mechanisms of these diseases, but the results are not always conclusive, suggesting the involvement of complex multi-layers of pathological processes that generate the final clinical phenotype. Dystrophin protein is a part of dystrophin-glycoprotein complex (DGC) that is localized in skeletal muscles, myocardium, smooth muscles, and neuronal tissues. Diversity of cardiac phenotype in dystrophinopathies suggests multiple layers of pathogenetic mechanisms in forming dystrophic cardiomyopathy. In this review article, we review the complex molecular interactions involving the pathogenesis of dystrophic cardiomyopathy, including primary gene mutations and loss of structural integrity, secondary cellular responses, and certain epigenetic and other factors that modulate gene expressions. Involvement of epigenetic gene regulation appears to lead to specific cardiac phenotypes in dystrophic hearts.
Expression of the colH Gene Encoding Clostridium histolyticum Collagenase in Bacillus subtilis and Its Application to Enzyme Purification

The colH gene encoding 116‐kDa collagenase of Clostridium histolyticum (cColH) was cloned into an Escherichia coli‐Bacillus subtilis shuttle vector to develop a method for purification of recombinant collagenase (rColH). When plasmid pJCM310 containing the colH gene was introduced into B. subtilis DB104 and the transformant was grown in LB broth at 37 C, stability of the plasmid was not maintained. However, stability was partly improved by growing the transformant in a modified LB broth containing 0.5 M sodium succinate with gentle shaking at 35 C. When the transformant was grown to an optical density of 0.4 at 600 nm in this medium, pJCM310 was stable and rColH was produced in sufficient amounts. rColH was purified to homogeneity by ammonium sulfate precipitation, gel filtration and ion‐exchange chromatography. The yield of rColH from an 800‐ml culture was 0.53 mg and its specific activity was estimated to be 1,210 U per mg of protein. The purified rColH was capable of degrading native type‐I collagen fibril from bovine achilles tendon, as was demonstrated by zymography. A comparison of the N‐terminal amino acid sequence between cColH and rColH revealed that rColH has 10 extra N‐terminal amino acid residues. However, the peptide mapping of rColH with V8 protease was virtually identical to that of cColH. Furthermore, the molecular mass of rColH was estimated to be 112,999 Da by mass spectrometry, coinciding with the value of 112,977 Da, which was predicted from the nucleotide sequence of the colH gene. Therefore, the recombinant B. subtilis culture is capable of serving as a useful source for enzyme purification.
c‐Jun expression after axotomy of corneal trigeminal ganglion neurons is dependent on the site of injury

The proto‐oncogene c‐Jun has been implicated in the control of neuronal responses to injury and in axonal growth during regenerative processes. We have investigated the expression of c‐Jun during normal terminal remodelling in trigeminal ganglion neurons innervating the cornea and after acute injury of epithelial nerve terminals or parent axons. Remodelling and rearrangement, or damage limited to corneal epithelium endings, was not a trigger for activation of c‐Jun expression. However, injury of parent axons in the stroma or in the orbital ciliary nerves induced c‐Jun expression in 50% of the population of corneal neurons, which included all of the large myelinated and 20% of the small neuropeptide‐containing corneal neurons. This suggests that c‐Jun expression in trigeminal ganglion neurons is not associated with normal remodelling or regeneration of peripheral nerve terminals, and that it takes place only when parent axons are injured. A substantial number of damaged neurons do not express c‐Jun, indicating that in primary sensory neurons, injury and regeneration may not always be coupled to the expression of this proto‐oncogene.
Union inclusiveness and temporary agency workers: The role of power resources and union ideology

This article investigates the determinants of union inclusiveness towards agency workers in Western Europe, using an index which combines unionization rates with dimensions of collective agreements covering agency workers. Using fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis, we identify two combinations of conditions leading to inclusiveness: the ‘Northern path’ includes high union density, high bargaining coverage and high union authority, and is consistent with the power resources approach. The ‘Southern path’ combines high union authority, high bargaining coverage, statutory regulations of agency work and working-class orientation, showing that ideology rather than institutional incentives shapes union strategies towards the marginal workforce.
Activation of natural killer cells by heat shock protein 70

Intracellular heat shock proteins (HSP) function as molecular chaperones, they support folding and transport mechanisms of other proteins under physiological conditions and following physical or chemical stress. More recently, extracellular localized HSP have been found to play key roles in the induction of a cellular immune response. Either they act as carrier molecules for immunogenic peptides that are presented on Antigen Presenting Cells (APC) to cytotoxic T-cells or they themselves act as activatory molecules for the innate immune system. Binding of uncomplexed HSP to HSP-receptors on APC has been found to induce the secretion of inflammatory cytokines. Furthermore, an unusual tumor-selective membrane-localization of non-conserved regions of the 72000Da HSP (Hsp70) has been found to act as a recognition structure for natural killer (NK) cells. In this review the interaction of NK cells with Hsp70 or peptides derived thereof will be eluciated in more detail.
Effects of Combined Bezafibrate‐Simvastatin Appraised in Healthy Subjects

The occurrence of clinical and biochemical side effects of bezafibrate (400 mg daily) or simvastatin (20 mg daily) alone or combined was appraised in 13 healthy male normolipidemic subjects according to a single blind design. Each period of 2 weeks of treatment with bezafibrate or simvastatin or bezafibrate plus simvastatin was followed by a period of placebo (1 week). No subjects experienced myalgia or muscle weakness. Plasma creatine kinase (CK) elevations, particularly skeletal muscle CK (CK‐MM), were observed in 6 subjects: 11 times during different placebo periods, 5 times on bezafibrate, 4 times on simvastatin, and 4 times on combined bezafibrate‐simvastatin, but never reached 1,600 IU/L. Only a trend to an increase of CK mean values on combined bezafibrate‐simvastatin was shown. The hepatic transaminase and gamma‐glutamyltransferase activities remained unmodified throughout the trial, unlike alkaline phosphatase activity, which fell on bezafibrate and on bezafibrate plus simvastatin. The low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol level was more reduced with simvastatin than with bezafibrate. The addition of bezafibrate to simvastatin did not decrease it further. Lecithin: cholesterol acyltransferase activity expressed as fractional esterification rate was enhanced only on simvastatin and bezafibrate‐simvastatin.
Tourism and the development of handicraft production in the Maltese islands

This paper concerns the links between tourism and the development of handicraft production in the Maltese islands; it focuses on the commercialization of Malta's handicraft production and examines some of the issues and problems that have ensued. The particular case of Malta is examined in the light of growing contention that such development cannot be conceived of universally as a simple unilinear process leading to the inevitable degeneration of crafts, loss of 'authenticity' for the tourists and the cultural prostitution of their producers. Using a range of methods, this paper examines the specific dynamics and particular consequences of the contrasting processes of commercialization of Maltese crafts in response to tourist demand. The evidence from Malta suggests that development is not only multilinear and complex but may also be bi-directional, as products and styles originally produced for an external market sometimes become appropriated into the producer's own culture. In other instances, craft production may split into two distinct lines, with different meanings for the tourists on the one hand and for locals on the other.
Banks and the False Dichotomy in the Comparative Political Economy of Finance

The wide-ranging varieties of capitalism literature rests on a particular conception of banks and banking that, the authors argue, no longer reflects the reality of modern financial systems. They take advantage of the greater information regarding bank activities revealed by the financial crisis to consider the reality, across eight of the world’s largest developed economies, of the financial power of banks to act as bulwarks against market forces. This article offers a marketbased banking framework that transcends the bank-based/capital market–based dichotomy that dominates comparative political economy’s consideration of financial systems and argues that future cpe research should focus on the activities of banks. By demonstrating how market-based banking increases market influences on the supply of credit, the authors highlight an underappreciated source of financial market pressure on nonfinancial companies (nfc s) that can have a potential impact across the range of issues that the varieties of capitalism (VoC) literature has seen as differentiating national systems. This approach has implications in areas such as labor, welfare, innovation, and flexibility.
Full Body Wearable Instrumented Motion Analysis System

A full body wearable instrumented system is proposed in this paper. The system consists of a headgear, custom-made lycra suit with embedded wireless sensors and an instrumented shoe insole. In addition, the proposed system will be wireless systems and hence it will not interfere with the movement of the subjects. The initial results provided by the first installment of the shoe insole are comparable to various normaltive gait parameters data. Hence, it is anticipated that the developed system will provide a cost effective alternative to vision systems in analyzing human gait.
Fast and accurate estimation of SRAM read and hold failure probability using critical point sampling

Owing to increase in parametric variations with technology scaling, accurate estimation of bit-cell failure probability in nano-scale static random access memory (SRAM) has become an extremely challenging task. In this study, the authors propose a method to detect the SRAM bit-cell failure, named ‘critical point sampling’. Using this technique, read and hold failure probability of an SRAM bit-cell can be efficiently estimated in a simulation-based way. Simulation results show that our estimation method provides high accuracy, while being ∼50× faster in computational speed compared to transient Monte-Carlo simulation. The method can be applied to optimise SRAM design for better yield and contributes significantly in reducing the overall design time.
Investments in Liberalized Electricity Markets and the Low-Carbon Energy Transition: A Mixed-method Analysis of the German Case

The German electricity sector has recently seen extensive planning and construction of new coal-fired power plants. Within a period of only a few years, new investments amounting to around 15% of the total sector capacity were brought on the way, and plans for a multitude of additional projects are pending. This ‘dash for coal’ in Germany has raised considerable public concern, especially as it risks to undermine recent political attempts to combat global warming. Yet, the question of why the dash for coal has emerged has not yet been addressed in a thorough analysis. This article attempts to close this research gap, while at the same time contributing as a case study to the general understanding of investment patterns in liberalized electricity markets. It finds that the main reasons for the dash have been (1) replacement requirements due to the nuclear phase out, (2) the onset of a new investment cycle in the power market, (3) favorable economic and technological prospects for coal compared with natural gas in the long run, (4) a status-quo bias of investors in regard to future renewable deployment, (5) explicit political support for coal, and (6) the ineffectiveness of public protest in hampering new
The Probiotic Lactobacillus johnsonii NCC 533 Produces High-Molecular-Mass Inulin from Sucrose by Using an Inulosucrase Enzyme

ABSTRACT Fructansucrase enzymes polymerize the fructose moiety of sucrose into levan or inulin fructans, with β(2-6) and β(2-1) linkages, respectively. The probiotic bacterium Lactobacillus johnsonii strain NCC 533 possesses a single fructansucrase gene (open reading frame AAS08734) annotated as a putative levansucrase precursor. However, 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis of the fructan product synthesized in situ revealed that this is of the inulin type. The ftf gene of L. johnsonii was cloned and expressed to elucidate its exact identity. The purified L. johnsonii protein was characterized as an inulosucrase enzyme, producing inulin from sucrose, as identified by 13C NMR analysis. Thin-layer chromatographic analysis of the reaction products showed that InuJ synthesized, besides the inulin polymer, a broad range of fructose oligosaccharides. Maximum InuJ enzyme activity was observed in a pH range of 4.5 to 7.0, decreasing sharply at pH 7.5. InuJ exhibited the highest enzyme activity at 55°C, with a drastic decrease at 60°C. Calcium ions were found to have an important effect on enzyme activity and stability. Kinetic analysis showed that the transfructosylation reaction of the InuJ enzyme does not obey Michaelis-Menten kinetics. The non-Michaelian behavior of InuJ may be attributed to the oligosaccharides that were initially formed in the reaction and which may act as better acceptors than the growing polymer chain. This is only the second example of the isolation and characterization of an inulosucrase enzyme and its inulin (oligosaccharide) product from a Lactobacillus strain. Furthermore, this is the first Lactobacillus strain shown to produce inulin polymer in situ.
ANTECEDENTS OF ORGANIZATIONAL INNOVATION: THE DIFFUSION OF NEW PUBLIC MANAGEMENT INTO DANISH LOCAL GOVERNMENT

The relation between leadership, the context in which it takes place and the adoption of organizational innovations associated with New Public Management (NPM) is explored in an empirical analysis of Danish local government. Two different strategies for conceptualizing NPM are contrasted: (1) treating NPM as one phenomenon; and (2) acknowledging important differences between organizational innovations associated with NPM. Management's preferences and perceptions of work relations, role in change processes, daily work priorities and rejection of traditional bureaucratic roles as well as the electorate's ability to formulate clear goals are found to be significantly related to the adoption of NPM innovations. Organizational size is found to be the most important contextual antecedent for the adoption of NPM innovations. Distinctions between marketization-type NPM innovations and generic managerial-type NPM innovations and the timing of their introduction are made, unveiling significant differences between the antecedents of different types of NPM innovations.
Stochastic Volatility and Option Pricing in the Brazilian Stock Marke

The stochastic volatility model (SVPS) proposed by Fouque et al. (2000a) explores a rapid timescale fluctuation of the volatility process to end up with a parsimonious way of capturing the volatility smile implied by close to the money options. In this article we test the SVFPS model using options from a Brazilian telecommunications stock. First, we find evidence of fast mean reversion in the volatility process. In addition, to test the model's ability to price options not so close to the money, we extend its statistical estimators to consider, in the calibration process, a wider region for the options moneyness. As an illustration, we price an exotic option.
Who is Willing to Pay to See the Big 7?

This article investigates the non-consumptive, or appreciative value of the ‘Big 7' and identifies the variables that influence willingness to pay (WTP). Addo Elephant National Park in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, is one of few places in the world where tourists can view all seven species: lion, buffalo, rhinoceros, leopard, elephant, southern right whale and great white shark. Two surveys were conducted, using the same questionnaire, one during summer and one during winter. A total of 232 completed questionnaires were used in the Heckman model selection procedure. The findings revealed that, although a variety of socio-demographic, behavioural and motivational factors influence the amount respondents are willing to pay, there is a clear distinction between the determinants for land species compared to marine species. This poses challenges for the marketing of and establishment of the Big 7 as a brand.
Catastrophe Risk Financing in Developing Countries: Principles for Public Intervention

Public intervention in catastrophe insurance markets, supported by the donor community and the World Bank, should be country specific. Low-income countries, where the domestic non-life insurance market is undeveloped, should focus in the short term on the development of sovereign catastrophe insurance solutions and the promotion of public goods related to risk market infrastructure. These countries are usually not mature enough for the promotion of catastrophe insurance pools for private homeowners. Middle-income countries, where the domestic non-life insurance market is more developed, should help the private insurance industry offer market-based catastrophe insurance solutions to homeowners and to small and medium enterprises, including the agricultural sector. This book offers a framework, with lessons drawn from recent experience, guiding principles for public intervention and potential roles for donors and International Financial Institutions (IFIs). These lessons are expected to be used in developing affordable, effective and sustainable country-specific catastrophe insurance programs.
Detection of centrosome aberrations in disease‐unrelated cells from patients with tumor treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors

Objectives: Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) target various pathways associated with proliferation of aberrant clones in malignant diseases. Despite good response and acceptable tolerability, little is known concerning long‐term toxicity. Furthermore, the influence of these inhibitors on disease‐unrelated cells is not investigated yet. Methods: Centrosome aberrations are hallmarks of various cancers. We sought to evaluate the effect of TKIs on centrosomes of disease‐unrelated cells. We examined cells of the oral mucosa (OM) and fibroblasts of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) treated with dasatinib and bosutinib. Results were compared with data from patients with CML treated with imatinib or nilotinib and with data from patients suffering from renal and hepatocellular carcinomas (RCC/HCC) treated with sorafenib or sunitinib. Cells of healthy donors served as controls. Results: OM cells (n = 12) and fibroblasts (n = 7) of patients with CML treated with dasatinib and OM cells of three patients with CML treated with bosutinib showed centrosomal alterations (mean, 14%) compared with 16 (10 OM and 6 fibroblasts) controls (mean, 3%). OM cells of five patients with CML and one patient with systemic mastocytosis treated with imatinib or nilotinib and of eight patients with RCC or HCC treated with sorafenib or sunitinib showed centrosome defects in a mean of 15%. Conclusions: Our data have shown that TKI treatment of tumor patients may influence centrosomes in disease‐unrelated cells or tissues. This may be important with regard to various observed side effects.
Joint prefiltering and MLSE equalization of space-time-coded transmissions over frequency-selective channels

The problem of designing a front-end prefilter to improve the performance and/or reduce the complexity of maximum likelihood sequence estimation equalization of space-time-coded signals is addressed in this paper. The front-end prefilter performs channel shortening without excessive noise enhancement and is constrained to be a finite impulse response filter for practical implementation. Transmission scenarios emphasized assume two transmit antennas (with delay diversity or space-time trellis coding) and either one or two receive antennas. Extensions to more antennas are straightforward. Various design parameters (such as number of prefilter taps, number of equalizer states, and decision delay) are optimized using Monte Carlo simulations in a typical urban EDGE environment.
Does a Minimum Quality Standard Always Reduce the Price of High Quality Products?

Abstract This paper investigates the standard finding that instituting a minimum quality standard within a vertically differentiated market unambiguously benefits consumers of high quality products. A competitive model is specified in which random cost shocks lead some firms to cheat in equilibrium on their reputation for high quality. When cheating occurs, instituting or raising the level of a minimum standard can lead to the price of high quality products either increasing or decreasing. The effect of a minimum quality standard on the price of high quality products becomes an empirical rather than a theoretical issue.