Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Merchant Capital and Underdevelopment in Sierra Leone

This article follows up the theoretical work of Kay on the relationship between merchant capital and underdevelopment with an empirical study. Merchant capital in the form of trading enterprises came to Sierra Leone to extract raw materials and sell manufactured goods. Zack‐Williams details this process and briefly examines its effects on the social formation. He notes the failure of merchant capital to transform the social formation and as a corrollary to make the transition to industrial capital through investment in manufacturing. Only the United Africa Company shows signs of making this transition and that only recently.
The War on Terroir: Geographical Indications as a Transatlantic Trade Conflict

Terroir, the concept of an essential link between location of production and a specific quality attribute, is emerging as a contentious issue in trade negotiations and disputes. This issue is manifest through disputes and disagreements about appropriate protection of ‘geographical indications’ (GIs). This paper explores the differences in approach taken by the EU and the US towards GI protection, and illustrates the nature of the legal and economic arguments. The transatlantic dispute is spreading to other countries through the inclusion of GI protection in regional and bilateral trade pacts. It also has implications for the eventual conclusion of the WTO Doha Round negotiations, as the terroir issue arises in both the agricultural and the Trade‐Related Intellectual Property (TRIPS) agendas, once again pitting the US and EU as protagonists. But there are signs of change in these positions as the GI system in the EU comes under review and producers in the US reconsider the possible advantages of location‐based identifiers. These issues are important in a number of food sectors, and are likely to be persistent. They deserve more attention from practising applied economists than they have yet received.
How Insights from the “New” JDM Research Can Improve Auditor Judgment: Fundamental Research Questions and Methodological Advice

SUMMARY: We examine recent developments in judgment and decision-making (JDM) research to provide insight into how two big ideas in this area can be leveraged as overlapping frameworks to examine and improve auditor judgment. The ideas are (1) that human thinking and reasoning can be characterized by a dual-process model and (2) that conscious and nonconscious goals drive cognition. Despite that these ideas are well established in the broader JDM literature and have great promise for improving auditor judgment, we observe minimal use of them in the audit JDM literature. Thus, we briefly outline these ideas, and we develop fundamental, high-level research questions related to audit JDM research that are based on these ideas. Finally, we provide guidance for designing and evaluating experiments that effectively use these frameworks, whether in auditing or other rich decision-making contexts. The frameworks can help researchers improve audit quality by enhancing our understanding of auditors' judgment proces.
Data work mode change in AFDX network

When network mode changes, the transition time analysis of the network is especially important, as there should be no buffer overload and all switches schedulable. To ensure the schedulability of each switch, transition time of the network is needed to analysis. In this paper we provide a method to solve the overload. An offset is introduced, it can be calculate through the windows. After several iterations we will get an feasible offset. However, the introduce of the offset could make no message lose, but it causes a delay of the transition time.
Atg 17 Functions in Cooperation with Atg 1 and Atg 13 in Yeast Autophagy

In eukaryotic cells, nutrient starvation induces the bulk degradation of cellular materials; this process is called autophagy. In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, most of the ATG (autophagy) genes are involved in not only the process of degradative autophagy, but also a biosynthetic process, the cytoplasm to vacuole (Cvt) pathway. In contrast, the ATG17 gene is required specifically in autophagy. To better understand the function of Atg17, we have performed a biochemical characterization of the Atg17 protein. We found that the atg17 mutant under starvation condition was largely impaired in autophagosome formation and only rarely contained small autophagosomes, whose size was less than one-half of normal autophagosomes in diameter. Two-hybrid analyses and coimmunoprecipitation experiments demonstrated that Atg17 physically associates with Atg1-Atg13 complex, and this binding was enhanced under starvation conditions. Atg17-Atg1 binding was not detected in atg13 mutant cells, suggesting that Atg17 interacts with Atg1 through Atg13. A point mutant of Atg17, Atg17C24R, showed reduced affinity for Atg13, resulting in impaired Atg1 kinase activity and significant defects in autophagy. Taken together, these results indicate that Atg17-Atg13 complex formation plays an important role in normal autophagosome formation via binding to and activating the Atg1 kinase.
Empirical Analysis of Renewable Energy Demand in Ghana with Autometrics

Increased investment in renewable energy (RE) has been identified as a potential solution to the intermittent power supply in Ghana. Recently, a RE Act has been passed which has a target of 10% of RE component in Ghana’s energy mix by 2020. Whilst effort is been made to enhance supply through feed in tariffs, education and tax reduction on RE related equipment, there is the need to understand the drivers of RE demand. Due to dearth of studies on RE demand in Ghana, this study seeks to fill both policy and research gap on renewable demand trend in Ghana. In this study, the general unrestricted model through autometrics is used to estimate the determinants of RE demand in Ghana. The results indicate that both economic factors and non-economic affect the demand for RE. In addition, the underlying energy demand trend exhibits energy using behaviour. The study recommends that economic factors such as consumer subsidies should be considered when promoting RE demand.
Engineering the future. Development of transgenic plants with enhanced tolerance to adverse environments

Abstract Environmental stresses - especially drought and salinity - and iron limitation are the primary causes of crop yield losses. Therefore, improvement of plant stress tolerance has paramount relevance for agriculture, and vigorous efforts are underway to design stress-tolerant crops. Three aspects of this ongoing research are reviewed here. First, attempts have been made to strengthen endogenous plant defences, which are characterised by intertwined, hierarchical gene networks involved in stress perception, signalling, regulation and expression of effector proteins, enzymes and metabolites. The multigenic nature of this response requires detailed knowledge of the many actors and interactions involved in order to identify proper intervention points, followed by significant engineering of the prospective genes to prevent undesired side-effects. A second important aspect refers to the effect of concurrent stresses as plants normally meet in the field (e.g., heat and drought). Recent findings indicate that plant responses to combined environmental hardships are somehow unique and cannot be predicted from the addition of the individual stresses, underscoring the importance of programming research within this conceptual framework. Finally, the photosynthetic microorganisms from which plants evolved (i.e., algae and cyanobacteria) deploy a totally different strategy to acquire stress tolerance, based on the substitution of stress-vulnerable targets by resistant isofunctional proteins that could take over the lost functions under adverse conditions. Reintroduction of these ancient traits in model and crop plants has resulted in increased tolerance to environmental hardships and iron starvation, opening a new field of opportunities to increase the endurance of crops growing under suboptimal conditions.
Bonus Payments, on-the-Job Training, and Lifetime Employment in Japan

The prevalence in Japan of flexible wages in the form of bonus payments is explained by a high profitability of investment in specific human capital together with the low costs of transactions facing the employer and the worker in assessing fluctuations in productivities. A model of on-the-job training is developed to analyze the determination of the amounts and the sharing of investment in specific human capital. The model predicts that increased profitability of investment leads to an increased bonus-earnings ratio. Evidence indicates that education and firm size, which are often said to be positively associated with the profitability of on-the-job training in Japan, as well as years of experience in the current firm, have significant positive associations with the bonus-earnings ratio. An observed positive association between the cyclical sensitivities in a production index and in the bonus-earnings ratio also supports the theory.
Shiga Toxin–Induced Complement-Mediated Hemolysis and Release of Complement-Coated Red Blood Cell–Derived Microvesicles in Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome

Shiga toxin (Stx)-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) cause hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). This study investigated whether Stx2 induces hemolysis and whether complement is involved in the hemolytic process. RBCs and/or RBC-derived microvesicles from patients with STEC-HUS (n = 25) were investigated for the presence of C3 and C9 by flow cytometry. Patients exhibited increased C3 deposition on RBCs compared with controls (p < 0.001), as well as high levels of C3- and C9-bearing RBC-derived microvesicles during the acute phase, which decreased after recovery. Stx2 bound to P1k and P2k phenotype RBCs, expressing high levels of the Pk Ag (globotriaosylceramide), the known Stx receptor. Stx2 induced the release of hemoglobin and lactate dehydrogenase in whole blood, indicating hemolysis. Stx2-induced hemolysis was not demonstrated in the absence of plasma and was inhibited by heat inactivation, as well as by the terminal complement pathway Ab eculizumab, the purinergic P2 receptor antagonist suramin, and EDTA. In the presence of whole blood or plasma/serum, Stx2 induced the release of RBC-derived microvesicles coated with C5b-9, a process that was inhibited by EDTA, in the absence of factor B, and by purinergic P2 receptor antagonists. Thus, complement-coated RBC-derived microvesicles are elevated in HUS patients and induced in vitro by incubation of RBCs with Stx2, which also induced hemolysis. The role of complement in Stx2-mediated hemolysis was demonstrated by its occurrence only in the presence of plasma and its abrogation by heat inactivation, EDTA, and eculizumab. Complement activation on RBCs could play a role in the hemolytic process occurring during STEC-HUS.
Relationship between histological findings and clinical findings in rheumatoid arthritis

The aim of the present study was to compare histological findings and clinical symptoms of patients with advanced stages of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Synovial tissue specimens were obtained during reconstructive knee surgery from 93 RA patients (18 men; 75 women). The histological assessments of specimens were evaluated using two histological scoring systems reported by Rooney and Koizumi. Clinical symptoms (duration of morning stiffness, joint score, grip strength), laboratory data (erythrocyte sedimentation ratio, C‐reactive protein (CRP), rheumatoid factor), X‐ray findings (Larsen score) and drug usage were assessed before surgery. Significant statistical correlations between both histological scoring systems were observed; however, there was no significant correlation between the clinical findings and the histological scoring systems. A statistically significant correlation was found between the levels of CRP and Koizumi's scoring system. In addition, Koizumi score correlated significantly to X‐ray findings. Rooney's scoring system had an inverse correlation to methotrexate history. Histological findings do not correlate to simultaneous clinical symptoms in advanced RA patients. However, our data indicate that observed histological changes reflect X‐ray damage.
Human resources and management in China's 'hi-tech' revolution: a study of selected computer hardware, software and related firms in the PRC

This study examines the management of human resources in China's 'hi-tech' revolution, as it mainly appears in its computer hardware, software and related products firms. Based on a study of both large and small enterprises in Beijing's 'Electronics Alley' in Haidian, it looks at their HRM characteristics, namely at their labour management relations, employment contracts, rewards system, social insurance and personnel behaviour (such as recruitment, labour turnover and dismissals). The main conclusions confirm a degree of institutional continuity with past work-unit (danwei) practices but point also to the makings of a new employment relationship, with a weakening of the old 'patron-client' relationship.
Bilateral Acanthamoeba Keratitis in Synergeyes Contact Lens Wear: Clinical and Confocal Microscopy Findings

Objective: To report three cases of bilateral Acanthamoeba keratitis in association with Synergeyes hybrid contact lens wear. Methods: Retrospective case series of six eyes of three patients that developed Acanthamoeba keratitis with Synergeyes hybrid contact lens wear. Results: Acanthamoeba keratitis was diagnosed in six eyes with a previous misdiagnosis of Herpes simplex keratitis in two patients and a misdiagnosis of corneal graft rejection in the third patient. Misdiagnosis in all three patients led to inappropriate topical corticosteroid use. All cases were diagnosed with Acanthamoeba castellanii by culture on nonnutrient agar, corneal scraping, and/or confocal microscopy. The infection ultimately cleared in all eyes with topical therapy using chlorhexidine, propamidine, and antibiotic ointment with neomycin. Cornea transplantation was required in two of six eyes for dense central corneal scarring. Conclusions: Acanthamoeba keratitis can occur in association with SynergEyes contact lens wear. Eye care professionals must take care to avoid potential misdiagnosis of Herpes simplex keratitis, avoid topical corticosteroids in contact lens wearers with an unknown keratitis, and pay special attention to the fellow eye for potential bilateral infection when Acanthamoeba has been diagnosed in one eye.
Do outside independent directors strengthen corporate boards

Purpose – Recent changes in corporate governance require firms to maintain boards with a majority of outside independent directors. The belief seems to be that outside independent directors will strengthen corporate boards by monitoring the actions of management and ensuring that management decisions are made in the best interests of the stockholders. This belief, however, may be founded on an assumption that has its roots in public perception and not in fact. The purpose of this paper is to determine whether or not outside independent directors strengthen corporate boards.Design/methodology/approach – Five areas within corporate boards of directors, including board composition, CEO duality, audit committees, compensation committees and nominating committees, are examined. The results of studies aimed at discerning the effects that outside independent directors have on increased firm performance and shareholder wealth through strong corporate governance are discussed.Findings – The conclusion reached is t.
Vulnerability to poverty in Fiji

In the extant literature either income or consumption expenditures as measured over short periods of time have been regarded as proxies for the material well-being of households. However, economists have long recognized that a household's sense of well-being depends not just on its average income or expenditures, but also on the risks it faces. Hence vulnerability is a more satisfactory measure of welfare. In this paper we measure the extent of vulnerability as expected poverty, and examine the importance of its determinants, on the basis of a household survey for Fiji. We find that in Fiji, vulnerability (and poverty) is largely a rural phenomenon. Moreover, the distribution of vulnerability across different segments of the population can differ significantly from the distribution of poverty. In addition, there is a sizable fraction of the population Fiji observed to be non-poor but estimated to be vulnerable to poverty. Thus, poverty reduction strategies in Fiji need to incorporate not just alleviation efforts but also prevention.
The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: the stock market casts its vote…

In December 1995, Congress overrode a presidential veto to enact the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. This legislation was aimed at curbing abuses in class action securities litigation, and providing firms with relief from frivolous lawsuits brought on the basis of stock price volatility. While the intent of lawmakers in drafting this legislation was clear, the impact of the Reform Act for shareholders of firms that are likely targets of securities litigation was uncertain. In particular, it was unclear if the cost savings from reduced litigation would outweigh the potential losses due to decreased protection from fraudulent managers, and it was also unclear if the impact of the legislation would differ for firms with different governance structures. This paper provides an economic answer to these questions by analyzing the stock market's response to the initial passage, the veto, and subsequent veto override of the Reform Act. We examine the stock price performance of firms in four industries-biotechnology, computers, electronics, and retailing-that are likely to be affected by securities litigation reform. We document a significantly negative stock price response to rumors of the presidential veto and a significantly positive response to the subsequent House override vote, indicating that investors agreed with Congress that the positive effects of the Act predominate. We also examine reactions across subsets of firms with different levels of institutional ownership, different levels of insider ownership and with different board structures, and find evidence that the positive factors outweigh any increased susceptibility to managerial fraud or inability to bring meritorious suits, even among firms with weak internal governance structures. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Quality principles deployment to achieve strategic results

Top management always desires to discover what the role of quality is to decrease organisational and operational costs and how quality contributes to the organization's profit. Due to these concerns, issues like quality costing and return on quality become popular among quality professionals. Moreover, the inseparable nature of quality is its strategic importance. If quality initiatives and related quality tools make a strong tie to strategic objectives and business goals, the value of quality can be definitely highlighted for top management and also for gaining competitive advantages. This means that commitment to quality can bring benefit for more profit making and strategy development in the same time. In this paper, a new framework has been proposed based on PDCA approach to deploy quality management principles in order to achieve strategic results with a special focus on financial outcomes. In this framework, eight steps are included in which ISO 10014, strategy maps and balanced scorecard, business key processes and quality costs are the main means to construct the body.
Tasks for Temporal Graph Visualisation

In [1], we describe the design and development of a task taxonomy for temporal graph visualisation. This paper details the full instantiation of that task taxonomy. Our task taxonomy is based on the Andrienko framework [2], which uses a systematic approach to develop a formal task framework for visual tasks specifically associated with Exploratory Data Analysis. The Andrienko framework is intended to be applicable to all types of data, however, it does not consider relational (graph) data. We therefore extended both their data model and task framework for temporal graph data, and instantiated the extended version to produce a comprehensive list of tasks of interest during exploratory analysis of temporal graph data. As expected, our instantiation of the framework resulted in a very large task list; with more than 144 variations of attribute based tasks alone, it is too large to fit in a standard journal paper, hence we provide the detailed listing in this document.
Network-aware P2P file sharing over the wireless mobile networks

With the coming wireless mobile networks era and the popular use of P2P applications, how to improve the resource retrieval and discovery for P2P file sharing applications in wireless mobile networks becomes a critical issue. In this paper, we propose a novel network-aware P2P file architecture and related control schemes that can provide continuous resource retrieval and discovery for mobile users over the wireless network environment. The proposed architecture divides a P2P file sharing network into multiple network-aware clusters, in which peers are assigned to a network-aware cluster using a network prefix division. Accordingly, there are two designs for supporting mobile peers to retrieve files in wireless mobile networks. First, a novel file discovery control scheme named mobility-aware file discovery control (MAFDC) scheme is devised to obtain fresh status of shared peers and find the new resource providing peers in wireless mobile networks. Second, a resource provider selection algorithm is devised to enable a mobile peer to select new resource providing peers for continuous file retrieval.
Optimal and low complex suboptimal transmission schemes for MIMO-OFDM broadcast channels

In this paper, we address the problem of optimal power allocation for multiple input multiple output (MIMO) orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) broadcast channels with a sum power constraint when transmitter and receiver have perfect channel state information (CSI). We derive optimality conditions for power allocation and present an efficient algorithm achieving the optimal power allocation. Furthermore, we obtain necessary and sufficient conditions for the optimality of frequency division multiple access (FDMA) transmission and single user transmission. It turns out that the assignment of multiple users to one subcarrier is optimal in general. We propose a low complexity algorithm using a pure FDMA-scheme without multiple assignment of users and characterize the achievable rate region in comparison to the complete capacity region.
An alternative approach to examining the ripple effect in UK house prices

This article examines the possibility of a ripple effect being present in the UK housing market using a previously unconsidered two-stage procedure. According to Drake, the ripple effect hypothesises that changes in house prices occurs earlier and more extensively in the South East of England than in other regions of the UK. Via application of non-parametric testing and business cycle dating techniques, evidence in favour of a ripple effect is derived.