Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Corporate governance, directors' and officers' insurance premiums and audit fees

Purpose - – This study aims to examine the association between corporate governance and audit fees using directors' and officers' (D&O) insurance premiums as a proxy for overall governance quality. The use of an overall governance measure that captures both structural and non-structural governance features may shed light on the association between governance and audit fees, which is known to be inconclusive in the literature. Design/methodology/approach - – The authors employ D&O insurance premiums as a proxy for governance quality that reflects both the structural features and non-structural features of governance. D&O insurance premiums are hand-collected from a proxy circular of Canadian firms. Multivariate regression analyses are used for testing. Findings - – The authors find a positive association between D&O premiums and audit fees, suggesting that auditors charge higher fees to firms with heightened corporate governance risk. Even after controlling for structural governance variables in the regression model, the authors find a significantly positive association between D&O premiums and audit fees. Research limitations/implications - – The findings suggest that mandatory disclosures of D&O insurance policies can be useful for market participants. This study uses a relatively small sample of Canadian firms. A larger sample could strengthen the implications of the findings. Originality/value - – The findings suggest that structural features of governance may be insufficient to provide a full understanding of the impact of corporate governance on audit pricing and add to the understanding of the determinants of audit fees.
CRBS for the Joint Estimation of TOA and AOA in Wideband MISO and MIMO Systems: Comparison with SISO and SIMO Systems

We derive the CRBs (Cramer Rao bound) for the joint estimation of the TOA (time of arrival) and the AOA (angle of arrival) in wideband (WB) MISO (multiple input single output) and MIMO (multiple input multiple output) systems.We consider both cases of orthogonal and non-orthogonal transmitted signals. We compare the CRBs obtained in SISO (single input single output), SIMO (single input multiple output), MISO and MIMO systems under the assumption that the total transmitted energy is the same for all systems. We show that SIMO and MIMO are equivalent for TOA estimation, and MISO and SISO as well when the transmitted signals are orthogonal. For non-orthogonal signals, MIMO is better than SIMO, and MISO is better than SISO when the received signals are constructive. For AOA estimation, we show that MIMO is better than SIMO and SIMO is better than MISO when the transmitted signals are orthogonal. For non-orthogonal signals, MIMO is much better when the received signals are constructive. The CRBs obtained for non-orthogonal signals are very sensitive to the angle. Numerical results obtained in a typical scenario are provided.
Financial Value of Reputation: Evidence from the Ebay Auctions of Gmail Invitations

In a marketplace of repeated transactions with asymmetric information, theory predicts that sellers with a good reputation have a higher probability of sale and receive a higher transaction price. In this article, I test this theory using more than 55,000 auctions of "Gmail invitations" on eBay, essentially a market of homogeneous goods with non-enforceable contracts. This is an ideal environment to test the theory because it allows a clean separation of the reputation effects from other controlling factors. This study provides evidence in favor of the theoretical predictions because sellers who improve their reputation from the lowest to the next quintile experience a 6.2% higher probability of sale and a 6.1% hike in the implied buyer valuation after adjusting for truncation bias from failed auctions and explicitly controlling for seller heterogeneity such as skill. This study also shows that in addition to a dimension of reputation universal across different product markets, the product-specific dimension of reputation significantly affects the auction outcomes.
A high-level road model information fusion framework and its application to multi-lane speed limit inference

We propose a high-level road model information fusion framework to combine regulatory traffic elements, e.g. traffic signs, with lane geometry and digital map information for robust inference of lane-specific traffic rules. In this process, special care is given to adequately consider incomplete, uncertain, and inconsistent information sources with i) spatial, ii) existence, and iii) attribute uncertainties. First, Bayesian networks are employed for logical lane assignment of traffic elements under incorporation of traffic regulation knowledge and soft position relation evidences. The position relations are estimated via Monte Carlo simulations by taking spatial lane geometry and existence uncertainties into account. Second, Dempster-Shafer theory is used not only for fusing simultaneously detected traffic signs based on a novel belief mass transfer over adjacent lanes to recover from false sign classifications but also for traffic situation-dependent, lane-specific fusion of digital map attributes with sensor-inferred attributes. The framework is applied to the task of multi-lane speed limit inference, which gives lane-specific speed limit information in form of belief mass functions and runs in real-time on an experimental vehicle.
Effect of the Methodology on Circulating Peptides Determination and Consequences on Net Flux Measurements Across the Gastrointestinal Tract of Sheep

Two methodologies for the measurement of peptide amino acids (PAA) in blood were compared to evaluate their effects on the measurement of the net flux of peptides across the gastrointestinal tract of sheep. These methods consisted of a chemical deproteinization of blood samples with sulfosalicylic acid (1.6M, 0.1 ml for 1 ml of sample) or perchloric acid (1M, 1 ml for 1 ml of sample) followed by ultrafiltration through a 3,000-Da cut-off filter (SSA+UF3kD) or gel filtration through a Sephadex G-15 column (1,500-Da cut-off filter; PCA+G-15), respectively, prior to PAA analysis. Peptide concentrations as determined by amino acid concentrations before and after hydrolysis of samples were slightly greater with the SSA+UF3kD (991 µM) than with the PCA+G-15 (605 µM) methodology. However, both methodologies gave similar net portal-drained viscera flux data in sheep fed on alfalfa pellets with histidine as the only significant uptake of peptide amino acid.
Development of an optical fiber FMG sensor for the assessment of hand movements and forces

The development of an optical fiber specklegram sensor for detection of force myography (FMG) signals produced by hand forces and movements is presented. The optomechanical transducers are attached to the user forearm, causing variations on speckle field intensities, which are processed and then correlated to particular hand postures. The results indicated the viability to identify changes on hand configurations and forces, in which the force retrieval can be implemented via artificial neural networks after a previous calibration. The fiber FMG sensor can be further applied on human-system interfaces, as well as integrated to glove-based sensors in order to provide a robust detection of hand movements and forces.
An HLA-A2-Restricted T-Cell Epitope Mapped to the BNLF2a Immune Evasion Protein of Epstein-Barr Virus That Inhibits TAP

ABSTRACT The early lytic cycle protein of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), BNLF2a, has recently been shown to play a critical role in immune evasion by inhibiting the peptide transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP), thereby blocking antigen-specific CD8+ T-cell recognition of many lytic cycle antigens. Surprisingly, we now show that a peptide (50VLFGLLCLL58) from the hydrophobic C-terminal region of this small (60-amino-acid) EBV protein is efficiently presented by the common class I allele HLA-A2 for recognition by cytotoxic T lymphocytes. The mechanism for this unexpected finding was revealed by experiments showing that this epitope is processed and presented independently of TAP.
Regulation of Human Breast Cancer by the Long Non-Coding RNA H19

Breast cancer is one of the most common causes of cancer related deaths in women. Despite the progress in early detection and use of new therapeutic targets associated with development of novel therapeutic options, breast cancer remains a major problem in public health. Indeed, even if the survival rate has improved for breast cancer patients, the number of recurrences within five years and the five-year relative survival rate in patients with metastasis remain dramatic. Thus, the discovery of new molecular actors involved in breast progression is essential to improve the management of this disease. Numerous data indicate that long non-coding RNA are implicated in breast cancer development. The oncofetal lncRNA H19 was the first RNA identified as a riboregulator. Studying of this lncRNA revealed its implication in both normal development and diseases. In this review, we summarize the different mechanisms of action of H19 in human breast cancer.
Planning Language, Planning Inequality

Introduction Current and past (im)migration patterns have contributed to the increasing linguistic and cultural diversity in many nations. Despite the investment of financial and human resources invested in language minority education, these groups still do not fully participate in many modern societies. James Tollefson, in his book Planning Language, Planning Inequality, attributes this paradox to the institutional constraints which have been created by dominant groups to prevent linguistic minorities from accessing social and political institutions. In this way inequalities between minority and majority groups are maintained. This is the starting-point for Tollefsons book, in which he sets out to show how language policy can maintain unequal social structures in a society.
Phase II trial of recombinant immunotoxin RFB4(dsFv)-PE38 (BL22) in patients with hairy cell leukemia.

PURPOSE To conduct a phase II trial in chemoresistant hairy cell leukemia (HCL) with BL22, a recombinant anti-CD22 immunotoxin which showed phase I activity in HCL. PATIENTS AND METHODS Eligible patients had relapsed/refractory HCL and needed treatment based on blood counts. Patients were stratified into three groups: response to cladribine less than 1 year, those with a response lasting 1 to 4 years, or no response and uncontrolled infection. Patients received BL22 40 microg/kg every other day for three doses on cycle 1. Those achieving hematologic remission (HR), defined as neutrophils > or = 1,500/mm(3), hemoglobin > or = 11 g/dL, and platelets > or = 100,000/mm(3), were observed. Patients without HR were re-treated at 30 microg/kg every other day for three doses every 4 weeks beginning at least 8 weeks after cycle 1. RESULTS Thirty-six patients were enrolled including 26, nine, and one in groups 1 to 3. The response after one cycle (CR, 25%; PR, 25%) improved when 56% were re-treated (CR, 47%; PR, 25%). CR rate was similar in groups 1 and 2 (P = .7). Twenty-two with baseline spleen height lower than 200 mm had higher CR (64% v 21%; P = .019) and OR rates (95% v 36%; P = .0002) compared to 14 with spleens either absent or higher than 200 mm. The only serious toxicity was reversible grade 3 hemolytic uremic syndrome, not requiring plasmapheresis, in two patients (6%). High neutralizing antibodies were observed in four patients (11%) and prevented re-treatment. CONCLUSION BL22 activity in HCL is confirmed. Best responses to BL22 after cladribine failure are achieved before the patients develop massive splenomegaly or undergo splenectomy.
Why Fewer Workers Join Unions in Europe: A Social Custom Explanation of Membership Trends

Can the recent decline in union density in Europe be attributed to specific economic, social or institutional causes? Can unions influence these causes and reverse decline? Using two data sources — a representative survey of Dutch employees and a data set for European countries between 1950 and 1997 — the author examines the determinants of union decline. The theoretical model is based on a social custom approach to unionization, integrating rational choice and social network theory. The empirical results show improbable small margins of union resurgence, that is, if institutional support for union representation can be maintained or regained within and beyond workplaces.
Asset Revaluations and the Mitigation of Underinvestment

Asset write-ups or revaluations are a common feature of Australian accounting and reporting practice. This paper adopts the perspective that efficiency rather than opportunism is the reason for revaluations. It argues asset revaluations are a low-cost mechanism for mitigating underinvestment problems induced by the presence of risky debt and exacerbated by the manner in which conventional borrowing limitations are written. It is hypothesized that revaluation should be positively related to the presence of growth opportunities, financial leverage and the presence of borrowing limitations; and negatively related to a firm's ability to finance growth internally. The empirical results generally support the hypothesized relationships.
Outsourcing and public service values: the Australian experience

With the increasing use of private organizations to provide public services and the corresponding blurring of boundaries between the public and private sectors, can public servants be held to a distinct code of ethics or should public sector ethical standards be applied to private providers? This question is explored in the context of the Australian Commonwealth which has recently codified a set of public service values in legislation and where agencies are being asked to report on the extent to which they require contractors to comply with public service values. Practice is evolving, with most emphasis on values relating to direct service to the public. Public service values dealing with internal organization and employment conditions, including the merit principle, are less likely to be extended to private contractors.
Corporate Governance and Liquidity: Pre- and Post-Crisis Analysis from the MENA Region

Abstract This paper examines the impact of corporate governance mechanisms on liquidity in the MENA region, i.e. Morocco, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Kuwait, and Bahrain. Using turnover as a proxy for liquidity, we document significant difference in liquidity between the pre- and the post-crisis periods in the MENA region. In addition, our results show that bulk of this reduction in turnover can be explained due to weaknesses of corporate governance mechanisms. For example, that dividend payout ratio and choice of auditors – proxies for agency problems – can explain the entire difference in liquidity between the two periods. Furthermore, our results indicate that more than 50% of this difference between the two periods can be explained by operational and informational complexity of a firm – proxy for transparency. We argue that poor corporate governance mechanisms increase information asymmetries between insiders and outsiders. Outsiders, being liquidity providers, therefore do not trade in stocks for which they have no information. Therefore, firms with poor governance mechanisms usually experience higher decline in liquidity during periods of market-wide uncertainty.
Krutilla's Legacy: Twenty-First-Century Challenges for Environmental Economics

We all need heroes. In academic life their ideas capture our imaginations, convincing us that a set of problems is important. Often, they are role models and mentors to young scholars. Certainly the academic enterprise would be less exciting and less productive without them. This past year, environmental economics lost John Krutilla, one of its founding fathers, and a person I have always regarded as an academic ‘hero. ’ Few people have influenced environmental economics more than John. It has now been fifteen years since his last major book was published (Bowes and Krutilla), and nearly forty years since the article, “Conservation Reconsidered,” that most environmental economists associate with him, appeared in the AER . A short recognition of his work, prepared by Resources for the Future, includes a comment by Nobel laureate Robert Solow that captures the impact of this paper. He observed that:
Chemistry and biochemistry of oxidative stress in neurodegenerative disease.

The age-related neurodegenerative diseases exemplified by Alzheimer&hyp;s disease (AD), Lewy body diseases such as Parkinson's disease (PD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and Huntington&hyp;s disease are characterized by the deposition of abnormal forms of specific proteins in the brain. Although several factors appear to underlie the pathological depositions, the cause of neuronal death in each disease appears to be multifactorial. In this regard, evidence in each case for a role of oxidative stress is provided by the finding that the pathological deposits are immunoreactive to antibodies recognizing protein side-chains modified either directly by reactive oxygen or nitrogen species, or by products of lipid peroxidation or glycoxidation. Although the source(s) of increased oxidative damage are not entirely clear, the findings of increased localization of redox-active transition metals in the brain regions most affected is consistent with their contribution to oxidative stress. It is tempting to speculate that free radical oxygen chemistry plays a pathogenetic role in all these neurodegenerative conditions, though it is as yet undetermined what types of oxidative damage occur early in pathogenesis, and what types are secondary manifestations of dying neurons. Delineation of the profile of oxidative damage in each disease will provide clues to how the specific neuronal populations are differentially affected by the individual disease conditions.
Investment Opportunities and the Relation between Equity Value and Employees' Bonus

A sample of firms where employee stock options and other long-term incentives are absent but an annual bonus is required is examined. A positive relation is found between firm equity value and stock bonus but not cash bonus. The positive relation is stronger when the firm has greater investment opportunities. Additionally, the relation is shown to be nonlinear in the sense that the marginal effect of stock bonus on equity value is positive but decreasing (negative) when the stock bonus is below (above) the breakpoint. Overall, the annual stock bonus is valued positively by investors even though it is linked to the firm's contemporaneous but not future performance.
The Impact of State Failure on Migration

State failure is a matter of degree. A successful state is one that lives up to an optimum degree of responsibility to protect its citizens and others under its jurisdiction and to provide for their general welfare. This should entail containing violence, managing diversity, developing and implementing sound economic policies that balance growth with equitable distribution, respecting democratic values and fundamental rights, and forging cooperative relations at the regional and international levels. Failure begins to manifest itself when a state cannot manage confl icts to minimize violence, ensure physical security, protect human rights, and provide essential services and development opportunities. In particular, failure to meet the survival needs of its citizens, respond effectively to human or natural disasters, and provide emergency protection and assistance are elements of a failed or failing state. Viewed in this light, many, if not most, states experience varying degrees of failure to live up to the optimistic standards of good governance and the management of the affairs of the state. At the extreme end of failure is the total collapse of the state, when the capacity to respond to crises disappears or diminishes to a minimal standard.1 Whatever the degree of failure, the international community is called on to step in to lend a helping hand when a state is failing. It should be noted with emphasis that the state remains the centerpiece of the international system and that the concept of state sovereignty remains a fundamental norm of the
How audit fees are affected by a client under SEC investigation

We examine the effect of a US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation of the audit client on audit cost. Ordinary least-squares models along with a match-paired design and publicly available auditor fees data are used to analyse the relation between an SEC investigation event and audit fees. The finding of a positive and significant relation supports our hypothesis that the business risk of a client under investigation by this regulatory agency is perceived to be higher than that of a client not under investigation. This finding is important given that certain factors may work against observing an effect. This study contributes to the literature by determining that auditors charge a statistically and economically significant average audit fees premium that ranges from 49.9% to 56.2% to clients under SEC investigation. One implication is that client management has fee-related incentives to avoid regulatory misconduct/scrutiny and produce financial statements free of material misstatement.
How do firms measure their intellectual capital? Defining an empirical model based on firm practices

This paper examines the cases of ten Northern European companies that have set up accounts on their intellectual capital (IC): Ramboll, Sparekassen Nordjylland, Consultus, Skandia, ABB, SCAA, Telia, PLS Consult, Sparbanken and WM Data. I hypothesise that there is a strong correlation between IC and financial capital, i.e. between knowledge accumulation and efficiency, and try to highlight how knowledge influences financial performance through the intellectual capital measurements made by the companies under study. I propose an explanatory model of the relationship between IC measurement and financial performance. The features of the model are identified through three key questions: What is the purpose of IC measurement? How is the measurement system structured? What are the current or potential effects of the measurement?
“I Ain't Been to Heaven Yet? Living Here, This is Heaven to Me”: Public Housing and the Making of Home in Inner Newcastle

Home in Australia is strongly associated with the tenure of home ownership and living in a detached house. This paper explores the ways in which public housing functions as home for a group of public housing tenants from inner Newcastle, Australia. Most public housing in inner Newcastle is medium density and consists of apartments and terraces. The experiences of home for these tenants are mediated by a number of factors, including their age and family circumstances; the type of dwelling in which they reside; their interactions with and perceptions of neighbours; and the neighbourhood in which they live. For some tenants living in public housing is “heaven”, and for most the experience is a positive one. However, the experience of these tenants also highlights that home can be simultaneously experienced as positive and negative, for example as secure and threatening.