Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Value Relevance Of The Performance Of Listed Italian Companies Following The Introduction Of The Ias/Ifrs

This paper aims to offer a contribution to the area of value relevance studies. The analyzed var- iables are therefore partly accounting-related and partly market-related. The specific research area considered concerns the role of the International Accounting Standards (IAS/IFRS), investigating whether the adoption of IAS/IFRS has led to a greater correlation between some important financial statement values (net income, comprehensive income and equity) and stock market capitalization in comparison with ante-IAS/IFRS period. The study focuses on the Italian situation, analyzing a sample of 122 companies listed on the Milan Stock Exchange. We analyse a period of six years (2003-2008). The research shows specific results on the value relevance of accounting information referred to in- dustrial and financial sectors, and to net income in comparison with comprehensive income.
Challenges of Incorporating Intersectionality into Quantitative Analysis of Survey Data

Qualitative research in political science and sociology commonly explores intersectionality, but practical methodological guides for the quantitative researcher are few. I examine methodological challenges in testing intersectionality theory by comparing and contrasting two most frequently used statistical approaches to the quantitative analysis of intersectional demographics: the unitary, or additive approach and the multiplicative approach. To illustrate these approaches I use the European Social Survey (2006) and focus on gender, ethnicity, and class, and their intersections, to explain soft political protest in Central and East European countries. Logistic regression with dichotomous explanatory variables, including multiplicative interaction terms and their main effects, is an acceptable way to explore variants of intersectionality theory and related hypotheses regarding cumulative disadvantage. The findings warrant the following guidelines for cross-national quantitative analysis of intersectionality: (1) multiplicative interaction terms are the best available way to measure an intersection as an identity beyond the sum of its parts; (2) because intersectionality frequently calls for more than two variables, care must be taken with the interpretation of main effects and higher and lower order interaction terms; and (3) each intersection has timeand space-specific consequences. Accounting for intersectionality in the quantitative analysis of large cross-national survey data sets is an opportunity to advance the intersectionality paradigm.
The Effectiveness of Strategic Human Resource Management Practices on Firm Performance in the Malaysian Insurance Industry.

This study sought to investigate the relationship between SHRM practices and firm performance. A descriptive survey research design was used to gather primary data using selfadministered questionnaire. The study population (n=312) was comprised of non-executives, executives, managers, and top management from seven major insurance firms at headquarter in the Klang Valley. The study found that performance appraisal, internal communication, SHRM alignment in the organization, and career planning were the best predictors of firm performance.
Release of a cell surface protein during development of Myxococcus xanthus

VGP is a major cell-surface glycoprotein present in vegetative cells of Myxococcus xanthus. Serological assays indicated that this protein was released from cells and accumulated in the medium during development, i.e., aggregation, fruiting body formation, and myxosporulation. Cells induced to form spores in the absence of aggregation retained VGP, indicating that loss of VGP was associated with developmental aggregation rather than myxosporulation. Anti-VGP antibodies inhibited vegetative cell gliding, suggesting the protein may also be required for motility.
Comparative Study Between METEOR and BLEU Methods of MT: Arabic into English Translation as a Case Study

The Internet provides its users with a variety of services, and these services include free online machine translators, which translate free of charge between many of the world's languages such as Arabic, English, Chinese, German, Spanish, French, Russian, etc. Machine translators facilitate the transfer of information between different languages, thus eliminating the language barrier, since the amount of information and knowledge available varies from one language to another, Arabic content on the internet, for example, accounts 1% of the total internet content, while Arabs constitute 5% of the population of the earth, which means that the intellectual productivity of the Arabs is low because within internet use Internet's Arabic content represents 20% of their natural proportion, which in turn encouraged some Arab parties to improve Arabic content within the internet. So, many of those interested specialists rely on machine translators to bridge the knowledge gap between the information available in the Arabic language and those in other living languages such as English. This empirical study aims to identify the best Arabic to English Machine translation system, in order to help the developers of these systems to enhance the effectiveness of these systems. Furthermore, such studies help the users to choose the best. This study involves the construction of a system for Automatic Machine Translation Evaluation System of the Arabic language into language. This study includes assessing the accuracy of the translation by the two known machine translators, Google Translate, and the second, which bears the name of Babylon machine translation from Arabic into English. BLEU and METEOR methods are used the MT quality, and to identify the closer method to human judgments. The authors conclude that BLEU is closer to human judgments METEOR method.
Imaging tumor angiogenesis with contrast ultrasound and microbubbles targeted to alpha(v)beta3.

BACKGROUND Angiogenesis is a critical determinant of tumor growth and metastasis. We hypothesized that contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEU) with microbubbles targeted to alpha(v)-integrins expressed on the neovascular endothelium could be used to image angiogenesis. METHODS AND RESULTS Malignant gliomas were produced in 14 athymic rats by intracerebral implantation of U87MG human glioma cells. On day 14 or day 28 after implantation, CEU was performed with microbubbles targeted to alpha(v)beta3 by surface conjugation of echistatin. CEU perfusion imaging with nontargeted microbubbles was used to derive tumor microvascular blood volume and blood velocity. Vascular alpha(v)-integrin expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry, and microbubble adhesion was characterized by confocal microscopy. Mean tumor size increased markedly from 14 to 28 days (2+/-1 versus 35+/-14 mm2, P<0.001). Tumor blood volume increased by approximately 35% from day 14 to day 28, whereas microvascular blood velocity decreased, especially at the central portions of the tumors. On confocal microscopy, alpha(v)beta3-targeted but not control microbubbles were retained preferentially within the tumor microcirculation. CEU signal from alpha(v)beta3-targeted microbubbles in tumors increased significantly from 14 to 28 days (1.7+/-0.4 versus 3.3+/-1.0 relative units, P<0.05). CEU signal from alpha(v)beta3-targeted microbubbles was greatest at the periphery of tumors, where alpha(v)-integrin expression was most prominent, and correlated well with tumor microvascular blood volume (r=0.86). CONCLUSIONS CEU with microbubbles targeted to alpha(v)beta3 can noninvasively detect early tumor angiogenesis. This technique, when coupled with changes in blood volume and velocity, may provide insights into the biology of tumor angiogenesis and be used for diagnostic applications.
A receptor decoy inhibits the enterotoxic effects of Clostridium difficile toxin A in rat ileum.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Clostridium difficile toxin A causes secretion and intestinal inflammation in rodents by binding to a specific trisaccharide Gal alpha 1-3Gal beta 1-4 GlcNAc on enterocyte receptors. The purpose of this study was to explore the ability of Synsorb 90 (Synsorb Biotech Inc., Calgary, Alberta, Canada), and inert support carrying this trisaccharide, to bind toxin A in vitro and to inhibit its enterotoxic effects in vivo. METHODS Binding of [3H]toxin A to Synsorb 90, Synsorb 83 (beta-mannose attached), and Chromosorb P (inert support with no sugar attached) (Synsorb Biotech Inc.) was measured. The inhibitory effects of these compounds on toxin A-mediated fluid secretion, mannitol permeability, and histological damage were measured in ileal loops in vivo. RESULTS Toxin A showed specific binding to Synsorb 90, bearing the specific trisaccharide that binds toxin A, but not to Synsorb 83 or to Chromosorb P. Pretreatment of rats with Synsorb 90 by gavage (200 mg/kg body wt), but no Synsorb 83 or Chromosorb P at the same doses, dramatically reduced toxin A-associated fluid secretion and permeability. CONCLUSIONS An immobilized toxin A receptor sequesters toxin A in the intestinal lumen and inhibits its effects of ileal mucosa. These results suggest a potential use for this agent in treating patients with C. difficile colitis.
Combined CT colonography and 18F-FDG PET of colon polyps: potential technique for selective detection of cancer and precancerous lesions.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility of imaging the colon with fused CT colonography (CTC) and 18F-FDG PET and to correlate the findings with the histologic features of polyps. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Eighteen patients with suspected colorectal polyps enrolled in this prospective study. Before colonoscopy, 17 of the patients underwent a combination of FDG PET and CTC. CTC consisted of 4-MDCT merged with PET. PET of the abdomen and pelvis was performed after each CTC scan. One radiologist and one nuclear medicine physician in consensus analyzed PET and CTC fusion data. PET standard uptake value was correlated with the findings at histologic examination of polyps. Patient feasibility was defined as the ability to tolerate prolonged scanning with good colonic distention. Technical feasibility was determined by how closely anatomically matched polyps overlapped on fusion images. RESULTS Seventeen of 18 patients tolerated scanning. Eighty-five percent of colon segments were optimally distended. Twenty-three of 27 FDG-avid polyps measuring 10 mm or more had excellent overlap at fusion imaging. PET depicted 23 of 39 premalignant polyps and even showed increased tracer activity associated with four small tubular adenomas (4-6 mm). Sixteen benign polyps (10-25 mm) were not depicted on PET. All nine cases of cancer (tumors measuring 11-60 mm) were detected with both PET and CTC. The standard uptake value of malignant tumors ranged from 4 to 20 (mean, 9). However, six benign flat polyps did not exhibit FDG avidity. CONCLUSION The novel combination of CTC and PET was feasible in 17 of 18 patients and allowed excellent image correlation in 23 of 27 proven polyps measuring 10 mm or more on PET-CTC fusion. This technique shows promise in accurate anatomic correlation of both malignant and premalignant lesions evaluated with FDG PET.
The Real Effects of Mandatory Dissemination of Non-Financial Information through Financial Reports

We examine the real effects of mandatory, non-financial disclosures, which require SEC-registered mine owners to disseminate their mine-safety records through their financial reports. These safety records are already publicly available elsewhere, which allows us to examine the incremental effects of disseminating information through financial reports. Comparing mines owned by SEC-registered issuers to those mines that are not, we document that including safety records in financial reports decreases mining-related citations and injuries by 11 and 13 percent, respectively, and reduces labor productivity by approximately 0.9 percent. Additional evidence suggests that increased dissemination, rather than unobservable factors associated with regulatory intervention, drive these effects. We also provide evidence that feedback effects from equity markets are a potential mechanism through which the dissemination of information leads to real effects. Overall, our results illustrate that disseminating non-financial information through financial reports can have real effects—even if the content of that disclosure is already publicly available.
DEVELOPMENT OF STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK FOR SUPPORTING HIGHER EDUCATION GRADUATES' EARLY CAREERS

Due to the high unemployment rate of young people, there is a strong emphasis on the issues/policies regarding the employability of young people on level of the European Union. Additionally, the enhancement of graduates’ employability is one of the criteria for the majority of university rakings. Accordingly, at the level of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), strengthening the potential employability of young people was set as one of the key development priorities. The closer cooperation between education, businesses, entrepreneurial sector, employment services and other stakeholders became one of the strategic goals until 2020, in order to ensure better graduates’ employability. In that context, not only the quality of study program, but also the support activities and services available to students are of great importance. The goals of this research are to explore how different elements of student support system are currently organized at European universities and to develop a strategic framework with the accompanying maturity model for supporting higher education graduates’ early careers in the field of information and communication technologies (ICT). This paper presents the research steps in the development of strategic framework with accompanying maturity model, following the design science principles.
Providing Personalized Services to Users in a Recommender System

Instructors recommend learning materials to a class of students not minding the learning ability and reading habit of each student. Learners are finding it problematic to make a decision about which available learning materials best meet their situation and will be beneficial to their course of study. In order to address this challenge, a new e-learning material recommender system that is able to recommend quality items to learners individually is required. The aim of this work is to develop a Personalized Recommender System that switches between Content-based and Collaborative filtering techniques, with an objective to design an algorithm to recommend electronic library materials, as well as personalize recommendations to both new and existing users. Experiments were conducted with evaluations showing that the recommender system was most effective when content-based filtering and collaborative filtering were used to recommend items for new users and existing users respectively, and still achieve personalization.
Hospital Global Budgeting

This paper is a practitioners guide to the introduction of a global budget into a hospital setting based on real World Bank projects in emerging, former soviet countries and in the UK NHS. It traces the steps from a centrally allocated, line item type allocated budget to one that is set on predetermined objective and measurable factors. These are based, where possible, on the health needs of the population served by the hospital. It considers how a global budget can be established and managed to generate local ownership and commitment to its delivery. It deals with incentives for both efficiency and performance. Examples of different contracting regimes, and how they fit into a global budget framework are given. Mechanisms for the periodic revision of the budget for issues such as inflation are given. There are separate notes on how a global budget can fit into a policy regime, how to cost services, and how to arrange contract for individual services. There are also suggestions on how to fund special payments that may vary from year to year, such as capital, research and development and Training and Education.
Performance Analysis of Time Warp With Multiple Homogeneous Processors

The behavior of n interacting processors synchronized by the Time Warp protocol is analyzed using a discrete-state, continuous-time Markov chain model. The performance and dynamics of the processes (or processors) are analyzed under the following assumptions: exponential task times and timestamp increments on messages, each event message generates one new message that is sent to a randomly selected process, negligible rollback, state saving, and communication delay, unbounded message buffers, and homogeneous processors. Several performance measures are determined, such as: the fraction of processed events that commit, speedup, rollback probability, expected length of rollback, the probability mass function for the number of uncommitted processed events, the probability distribution function for the virtual time of a process, and the fraction of time the processors remain idle. The analysis is approximate, thus the results have been validated through performance measurements of a Time Warp testbed executing on a shared-memory multiprocessor. >
Is Earnings Guidance Associated with Less Firm Innovation?

We inform the policy debate on whether management earnings guidance fosters managerial myopia by examining whether firms providing earnings guidance exhibit less firm innovation. At the core of the debate is whether guidance impedes long-term value creation, and evidence on the association between guidance and innovation addresses this central issue as firm innovation is a key driver of firms’ competitiveness and long-term economic growth. Using a propensity-score matching design and a pair-matching design to address the endogeneity concern that other firm characteristics can drive the relation between future innovation and current guidance, we find that earnings guiders exhibit a greater number of future patents and patent citations than matched non-guiders. This result holds for firms issuing quarterly guidance and more frequent guidance. Further analysis using a Heckman two-stage procedure to address the impact of unobservable correlated omitted variables and a difference-in-differences design to address potential reverse causality yields similar results. Overall, our findings suggest that management earnings guidance alleviates managerial myopia rather than exacerbates it.
Reasoning and communicative strategies in a model of argument-based negotiation

We are developing a model of negotiation in a natural language where the communicative goal of the initiator is to achieve the decision of the communication partner about doing a certain action. In order to make a decision, the partner starts a reasoning process, checking the existence of the needed resources as well as the positive and negative aspects of doing the proposed action. If the partner does not make the expected decision then arguments for and against of doing the action will be presented by the participants in the following communication. We discuss involvement of a reasoning model as well as communicative strategies and communicative tactics in the negotiation model. We consider how the partners can influence each other when reasoning in order to achieve their communicative goals. A limited version of the model of negotiation is implemented on the computer.
It's All About Coupons: Exploring Coupon Use Behaviors in Email

At Yahoo, we have been exploring the changing role of email in people's lives [4]. A major part of what we have heard from participants in weekly usability studies is that their primary use of email -- not limited to Yahoo Mail -- is for receiving coupons and deals; yet, this topic is underexplored in the HCI literature, with few clear implications for design. To understand how people save, share, or use promotional email, as well as how they deal with the overload of these emails, we analyzed quantitative data from a large marketing study and an online survey, and conducted a two-week diary study to qualitatively understand coupon use. We found that 92% of American adults have received a promotional email and 65% have used one in a 2-week period. We explore the flow of a digital coupon in a user's life and conclude with implications for the design of new digital coupon systems and email clients.
Consensus statement on concussion in sport: the 3rd International Conference on Concussion in Sport held in Zurich, November 2008.

*University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia; 3University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; 4Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; 1FIFA Medical Assessment and Research Center and Schulthess Clinic, Zurich, Switzerland; IInternational Ice Hockey Federation, Hockey Canada, and Ottawa Sport Medicine Centre, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; "International Rugby Board, Dublin, Ireland; #Emerson Hospital, Concord, MA
Effects of testosterone on muscle strength, physical function, body composition, and quality of life in intermediate-frail and frail elderly men: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

CONTEXT Physical frailty is associated with reduced muscle strength, impaired physical function, and quality of life. Testosterone (T) increases muscle mass and strength in hypogonadal patients. It is unclear whether T has similar effects in intermediate-frail and frail elderly men with low to borderline-low T. OBJECTIVE Our objective was to determine the effects of 6 months T treatment in intermediate-frail and frail elderly men, on muscle mass and strength, physical function, and quality of life. DESIGN AND SETTING We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, single-center study. PARTICIPANTS PARTICIPANTS were community-dwelling intermediate-frail and frail elderly men at least 65 yr of age with a total T at or below 12 nmol/liter or free T at or below 250 pmol/liter. METHODS Two hundred seventy-four participants were randomized to transdermal T (50 mg/d) or placebo gel for 6 months. Outcome measures included muscle strength, lean and fat mass, physical function, and self-reported quality of life. RESULTS Isometric knee extension peak torque improved in the T group (vs. placebo at 6 months), adjusted difference was 8.6 (95% confidence interval, 1.3-16.0; P = 0.02) Newton-meters. Lean body mass increased and fat mass decreased significantly in the T group by 1.08 +/- 1.8 and 0.9 +/- 1.6 kg, respectively. Physical function improved among older and frailer men. Somatic and sexual symptom scores decreased with T treatment; adjusted difference was -1.2 (-2.4 to -0.04) and -1.3 (-2.5 to -0.2), respectively. CONCLUSIONS T treatment in intermediate-frail and frail elderly men with low to borderline-low T for 6 months may prevent age-associated loss of lower limb muscle strength and improve body composition, quality of life, and physical function. Further investigations are warranted to extend these results.
Skewing effect on interior type BLDC motors

In this paper, skewing effect is analyzed in permanent magnet Brushless Direct Current motor (BLDC). Skewing is a common used method especially for reducing cogging torque. Test motor is an interior type BLDC motor with 24 slots and 4 poles. In this work, Test BLDC motor is analyzed for different skewing angles (2.5, 5,…,15 degrees) at stator to find an optimum skew angle for reducing the cogging torque. Fast Fourier Transform of the normal component of the air gap flux density is obtained for the skewed and non-skewed motors to observe the skewing effect on the harmonic components.