Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The State of Public Pension Funding: Are Government Employee Plans Back on Track?

The public-sector pension industry is claiming a comeback from losses suffered during the Great Recession. But this recovery is greatly exaggerated: even years past the end of the recession, most pension sponsors are unable to make their full annual contributions, and pensions are taking as much investment risk as ever. The first step to effective pension reforms is an honest, accurate view of the costs and risks that public plans impose on government budgets and taxpayers.
Financial Reporting Quality in Greece: A Case Study of Auditor’s Qualifications

complex and volatile environment created by the economic turmoil. We use as a proxy for the examination of financial reporting quality the concept of audit quality as this is depicted in auditor qualifications.Design/ methodology/ approach - The paper used a case study approach in order to examine auditor qualifications among three companies (A,B,C) with differences in their size, operations and structure. Semi structured interviews were conducted with the auditors that performed the audit of annual financial statement and with the chief financial officers of each company.Findings - A common qualification for all entities, irrespective from their characteristics, is the qualification of unaudited tax years. Companies A and C were severely affected by the economic crisis, a negative impact depicted in the adjusted misstatements of these companies that relate to revenue and accounts receivables. Moreover, they face serious liquidity problems which, in the case of company A are due to the fact that it cannot collect its money from the public sector and in company C to its high debt.Company B, which is a foreign multinational company was less affected by the economic crisis and appears to be in a better position regarding its liquidity, as it has an overdraft account with a loan from the parent entity. As far as management’s attitude is concerned company B preferred the issuance of a qualified report rather than distribute less earnings to its shareholder, which is the parent company, in contrary to companies A and C which adjusted all audit findings due to the need for finance from the banking sector.Research limitations/ implications - Case study results cannot be projected to the entire population and thus provide a generalization of the results. Future research will include a quantitative survey to verify the findings and provide a wider view of the issue under examination.Practical implications - The findings of the survey could be useful to the regulatory authorities in Greece (i.e. Committee of Accounting Standards and Auditing, Capital Market Commission etc.) in their the improvement of financial reporting in Greece.Originality/ value – The paper may be considered as the first empirical study examining audit qualifications in Greece under the conditions created by the economic recession. In addition, it contributes to the limited literature in the area of financial reporting quality in Greece.
A Study on Retail Service Quality with Special Reference to Kanyakumari District

The key determinant of the business performance in service industry is the service quality. In this paper an attempt has been made to study the retail service quality in Kanyakumari District with the help of instrument. The instrument used to measure service quality is the one developed by Dalholkar et.al., (1996). This paper identifies five important dimensions in retail service quality as 'Personal Interaction', 'Reliability', 'Policy', 'Physical Assets' and 'Problem Solving'. The results reveal that retail outlets in Nagercoil and Marthandam are better in providing retail service quality than the retail outlets in other towns of Kanyakumari District. The important determinants of retail service quality gap among the customers is their level of education, occupation and age.
Scyl1, Mutated in a Recessive Form of Spinocerebellar Neurodegeneration, Regulates COPI-mediated Retrograde Traffic*♦

Scy1-like 1 (Scyl1), a member of the Scy1-like family of catalytically inactive protein kinases, was recently identified as the gene product altered in muscle-deficient mice, which suffer from motor neuron degeneration and cerebellar atrophy. To determine the function of Scyl1, we have now used a mass spectrometry-based screen to search for Scyl1-binding partners and identified components of coatomer I (COPI) coats. The interaction was confirmed in pull-down assays, and Scyl1 co-immunoprecipitates with βCOP from brain lysates. Interestingly, and unique for a non-transmembrane domain protein, Scyl1 binds COPI coats using a C-terminal RKLD-COO- sequence, similar to the KKXX-COO- COPI-binding motif found in transmembrane endoplasmic reticulum (ER) proteins. Scyl1 co-localizes with βCOP and is localized, in an Arf1-independent manner, to the ER-Golgi intermediate compartment and the cis-Golgi, sites of COPI-mediated membrane budding. The localization and binding properties of Scyl1 strongly suggest a function in COPI transport, and inhibitory RNA-mediated knock down of the protein disrupts COPI-mediated retrograde traffic of the KDEL receptor to the ER without affecting anterograde traffic from the ER. Our data demonstrate a function for Scyl1 as an accessory factor in COPI trafficking and suggest for the first time that alterations in the COPI pathway result in neurodegenerative disease.
Games and teams with shared constraints

Energy systems of the future are envisaged to encompass multiple interacting autonomous entities. The theory of games provides the foundations for the design and analysis of such systems. This paper reviews models and results that would be of use for such analysis. Classically, games have involved players whose strategies are coupled only through the dependence of utility functions on strategies of other players. However, in many practical settings in the energy domain, system-level limitations bind the choices players can make. In 1965, Rosen (Econometrica 33, 520–534 (doi:10.2307/1911749)) pioneered the study of a class of games where there is a common constraint, called a shared constraint, that couples the strategies available to the players. We discuss how this seemingly benign extension has important ramifications, ranging from the very definition of an equilibrium concept, to other key issues such as existence, uniqueness and efficiency of equilibria. We show how the presence of a shared constraint naturally leads to notions of a price and forms the motivations for more recent models. Although most of the paper has the character of a survey, occasionally we also prove new results. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Energy management: flexibility, risk and optimization’.
Corporate Social Responsibility: A Study on Initiatives Taken by Selected Indian Companies

Key objective of companies is to earn profit and to fulfill this objective companies use the society in different ways. So it is their ethical duty to participate in the development of society, where they belong. Companies have realized that, to get strategic benefits and ensure continuation of business, they have to focus on public welfare and reduce social inequalities. Thus they have to be more concern about society and common people. CSR is a means to corporate houses to work for society and create value for stakeholders. J.R. D. Tata rightly said that, “No success or achievement in material terms is worthwhile unless it serves the needs or interests of the country and its people. ” The aim of this paper is to see the CSR initiatives taken by selected Indian companies and whether the companies are compliance with the Companies Act. 2013, regarding amount spend for CSR purpose.
Arginine nutrition in development, health and disease

Abstract As a precursor of nitric oxide, polyamines and other molecules with enormous biologic importance, L‐arginine plays versatile key roles in nutrition and metabolism. Arginine is an essential amino acid in the fetus and neonate, and is conditionally an essential nutrient for adults, particularly in certain disease conditions. L‐Arginine administration is beneficial in improving reproductive, cardiovascular, pulmonary, renal, gastrointestinal, liver and immune functions, and in facilitating wound healing. The effect of L‐arginine in treating many common health problems is unique among amino acids, and offers great promise for improved health and well‐being in the future.
CXCL16 contributes to neutrophil recruitment to cerebrospinal fluid in pneumococcal meningitis.

In this study, we analyzed the expression and function of CXCL16 in pneumococcal meningitis. CXCL16 was found to be up‐regulated in RAW264.7 macrophages (but not in neutrophils and endothelial cells) upon pneumococcal stimulation, in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients, and in the brains as well as the cerebrospinal fluid of mice with pneumococcal meningitis. CXCL16 up‐regulation in vivo was dependent on Toll‐like receptor (TLR) 2/TLR4 and MyD88 signaling. Neutralization of CXCL16 in animals before intracisternal pneumococcal infection (using anti‐CXCL16 antibodies) resulted in reduced cerebrospinal fluid pleocytosis. In vitro, murine neutrophils expressed the CXCL16 receptor CXCR6 and showed dose‐dependant migration toward a CXCL16 gradient. Thus, this study implicates CXCL16 as an additional neutrophil chemoattractant in cerebrospinal fluid in early pneumococcal meningitis.
The role of hormone receptors in development and puberty.

The development of radionuclide labelling of hormones has greatly facilitated the study of their interactions with their receptor sites in target tissues. Although in virtually all cases the real nature of the receptor site is unknown, nevertheless it is possible to study hormone\p=m-\receptor interactions qualitatively and quantitatively. This paper is devoted to some recent studies of steroid\p=m-\ and gon-adotrophin\p=m-\receptor reactions in central and peripheral tissues during development, mainly in rodents. The available evidence has been organized to examine what part these receptors may play in the attainment of sexual maturity.
The Effect of Mobile Office Service Quality Factors on the User Satisfaction : Focused on Usage and Job Characteristics

This study based on DeLone and McLean`s IS success model aims to identify mobile office service factors affecting user satisfaction. The result of analysis showed that user satisfaction was positively related to job performance, and mobility and information quality affects user satisfaction. In addition to that, we carried out separated hypotheses test to investigate mobile office service factors depending on usage(frequently used functions) and job characteristics classified generally as either primary or support activities. As a result of this research, somewhat different results were derived. The main results of this study are that mobility is the most important factor affecting user satisfaction, and mobile office services should be more strictly guaranteed in quality especially if it supports primary activities of customer companies such as sales.
First-in-Human, Phase I Dose-Escalation Study of the Safety, Pharmacokinetics, and Pharmacodynamics of RO5126766, a First-in-Class Dual MEK/RAF Inhibitor in Patients with Solid Tumors

Purpose: This phase I study assessed the maximum tolerated dose (MTD), dose-limiting toxicities (DLT), safety, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and clinical activity of the first-in-class dual MEK/RAF inhibitor, RO5126766. Experimental Design: Initial dose-escalation was conducted using once daily dosing over 28 consecutive days in 4-week cycles. Further escalation was completed using 2 intermittent dosing schedules [7 days on treatment followed by 7 days off (7on/7off); 4 days on treatment followed by 3 days off (4on/3off)]. Results: Fifty-two patients received RO5126766 at doses of 0.1 to 2.7 mg once daily, 2.7 to 4.0 mg (4 on/3 off), or 2.7 to 5.0 mg (7 on/7 off). The most common DLTs were elevated creatine phosphokinase (CPK) and blurred vision. The MTD for each dosing schedule was 2.25 mg once daily, 4.0 mg (4 on/3 off), and 2.7 mg (7 on/7 off). The dose/schedule recommended for phase II (RP2D) investigation was 2.7 mg (4 on/3 off). Frequent adverse events included rash-related disorders (94.2%), elevated CPK (55.8%), and diarrhea (51.9%). Cmax occurred 1 to 2 hours after dosing and mean terminal half-life was approximately 60 hours. Pharmacodynamic changes included reduced ERK phosphorylation, an increase in apoptosis in tumor tissue, and a reduction in fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake after 15 days of dosing. Three partial responses were seen: two in BRAF-mutant melanoma tumors and one in an NRAS-mutant melanoma. Conclusion: This first-in-human study shows that oral RO5126766 has manageable toxicity, a favorable pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic profile, and encouraging preliminary antitumor activity in this population of heavily pretreated patients, achieving tumor shrinkage in around 40% of patients across all dose levels and all tumor types. Clin Cancer Res; 18(17); 4806–19. ©2012 AACR.
Towards a model of speculation in the foreign exchange market

The recent slowdown in global economic activity has shown that macroeconomic models without a well-structured representation of the financial sector will fail to provide understanding of the way that disruptions in credit markets, capital markets and banking can affect the rest of the economy. An investigation of foreign exchange speculation is used to get a better knowledge of the interaction between the financial sector and the economy as a step towards improving macroeconomic models and policy.
Error resilient data transport in sensor network applications: A generic perspective

The error recovery problem in wireless sensor networks is studied from a generic resource‐constrained energy‐optimization perspective. To characterize the features of error recovery schemes that suit the majority of applications, an energy model is developed and inferences are drawn based on a suitable performance metric. For applications that require error control coding, an efficient scheme is proposed based on an interesting observation related to shortened Reed–Solomon (RS) codes for packet reliability. It is shown that multiple instances (γ) of RS codes defined on a smaller alphabet combined with interleaving results in smaller resource usage, while the performance exceeds the benefits of a shortened RS code defined over a larger alphabet. In particular, the proposed scheme can have an error correction capability of up to γ times larger than that of the conventional RS scheme without changing the rate of the code with much lower power, timing and memory requirements. Implementation results show that such a scheme is 43% more power efficient compared with the RS scheme with the same code rate. Besides, such an approach results in 46% faster computations and 53% reduction in memory requirements. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Orientation and adaptation case studies toward chaotic systems in an economic downturn

The basic concepts of complexity/chaos theories allows an organisation to focus on the ability of people to self-organise to handle problems and changes in the organisation; if control is relinquished and autonomy is spread to all employees. The goal of this paper is to inspect how different organisations are reacting to the recent economic crisis perhaps, while looking at their decisions through a chaotic/complexity theoretical viewpoint. The companies chosen represent a relative wide range of service organisations in the Pittsburgh, PA metropolitan area that allow for contrasting comparisons, from a large global power management company, Eaton Corporation, a large sporting goods company, Dick’s Sporting Goods, and a small independent grocery store chain, McGinnis Sisters Specialty Food Stores. To understand the basis for the present case study, a description what constitutes chaos theory in relationship to the companies studied, or what being on the edge of chaos means, and provide an overview of their current financial crisis as it relates to the operations in the chosen organisations, followed by a discussion of the practical applications of lessons learned from the case studies.
Neuromarketing and Marketing Management: Contributions of Neuroscience for the traditional Marketing Mix

The emergence of neuroeconomics, where methods and procedures developed for brain research are used for economic purposes, has been a topic for researchers and economists for more than a decade. One discipline of neuroeconomics is the so-called ‘Neuromarketing’ in which neuroscientific data is used to address marketing relevant topics. In the past it was difficult to gather objective consumer information from traditional research methods. Through neuromarketing, objective data collection is getting simpler. Although advantage of neuroscience for consumer research seem to be obvious the implications for marketing management have not been investigated in depth yet. In order to answer the question in how far neuromarketing is beneficial for marketing management of businesses a critical literature review is performed. The research paper investigates possible contributions of techniques used in neurology for marketing management. To come to relevant conclusions it is analysed how far neuroscientific findings support the marketing mix decisions of marketing managers. The results show how neuroscience contributes to traditional marketing mix decisions and implicates advantages of neuroscience for brand management.
The implementation of housing policy in Msunduzi municipality.

This research project aims to explore the implementation process of the low cost housing policy, over the period from 1994 to 2001 in the, Msunduzi Municipality area. There are problems with the implementation of the housing policy by local government and this is causing delays in the delivery of the low cost housing for the poor. The findings of this research project will show that these problems have many sources. These include: firstly, the funding and the budget allocated for the housing projects. Secondly, the interference of the provincial government and the power play to control the housing policy. Thirdly, the uniformity of the houses in the projects; these houses can be related to the social and township houses of the late apartheid era. The housing policy in Msunduzi is facing many problems in the implementation stages. In order to identify the problems one must first find out what makes a problem free and an efficient policy. The information provided in the background study was gathered from a collection of sources, namely, journal articles, newspaper articles and government papers including the housing White Paper. A major part of the information gathered was through interviews conducted with a handful of members of the housing sector in the Msunduzi area. My interviews were conducted with a member of the Msunduzi Housing Association, a member of the National Home Builders Registration Council, and three members of the local Department of Housing. These interviews have allowed me to analysis the situation in Msunduzi area and come up with certain conclusions, as seen in the final report.
Services marketing: taking up the sustainable development challenge

There is a window of opportunity within the area of design for sustainability for services marketing academics and practitioners to offer their knowledge and experience to manufacturing companies and academics. Over the last decade there has been a growing interest in services within the field of sustainable development. Services are viewed as a dematerialized alternative to existing products, with reduced environmental impact (i.e. less material and less energy use to fulfil a certain need). The services considered by academics in the field of sustainable development are those related to products or those substituting products. These services are often called “eco‐efficient services”. Academics focusing on the development of eco‐efficient services can use elements of theory and experience available within the services marketing discipline. Services marketing academics and practitioners can help in developing blueprints and processes to facilitate manufacturing companies to shift towards a more service‐intensive way of doing business. This paper calls for cross‐disciplinary collaboration.
Trust: From Sociology to Electronic Environment

This paper proposes a new conceptual model that represents the factors that determine user's online trust. The model is constructed after in depth analysis of trust in sociological, physical, and electronic environment. The represented model also incorporates the theoretical and empirical studies related to trust in physical and electronic environment from online user and business perspective. The model can be used either to enhance online user's trust in online business or to identify the e-areas that need improvement in order to compete with physically present businesses and established online merchants. For generations we have used different techniques to evaluate individuals and businesses before we make any transaction or commitment in the physical world. Such evaluations form user's trust on other party. The evaluation practices are personal to each individual, are subjective and assist individuals to compare choices and make decisions. In the physical world individuals can use visual, geographical and contextual information to evaluate an organization. However in global electronic environment, where the physical attributes are not present, we as individuals have to rely on different non-physical properties to make decisions as parties reach out far beyond their familiar trade environments and physical context. In this somewhat new online interaction medium we, as individuals, communities and businesses, have to develop new techniques to evaluate, form and build trust on an online party. This fundamental change in how we interact and conduct business online raises two essential research questions. First what does trust depend on in today's electronic environment? And secondly, how trust develops and increases or how businesses can be assisted to increase their trust perception in electronic environment so that users feel more confident in committing electronic transactions? In this paper the conceptual model is constructed which represents the direct and indirect factors which impact user's online trust after in depth analysis of trust from sociological theoretical and from online user behavior perspectives. The represented model can be used by the online service providers to enhance user's overall trust level in order to capture more potential customers. The proper implementation of the represented model should enable the new and