Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Impact of Organizational Commitment on Firm's Export Performance: Evidence from Drugs and Pharmaceutical Industry of Ahmedabad

Exporting has evolved to be one of the fastest growing economic activities in recent times. Increased interest in exporting can be attributed to changing economic conditions across the world viz. growing liberalization, integration and global competition, etc. However, in this highly competitive global era, exporting firms have to overcome several barriers in achieving superior performance in the international markets. Enhancing the organizational commitment towards exporting is one such step towards ensuring successful exporting by the firms. It is essential for the firms to retain and enhance their commitment towards exporting so as to ensure effective and profitable actions. In this regard, the role played by firm’s management is crucial as successful international operations require experienced and motivated personnel. Therefore, this study focuses on the performance of exporting firms from the angle of organizational commitment for exporting in use by them. The study draws its sample from the small and medium sized exporting firms operating in the drugs and pharmaceutical industry of Ahmedabad region of Gujarat State of India.
Land Trust Carbon Credit Market Participation Plan

Glossary Aggregate projects A type of forest carbon project in which a group of geographically separated smaller projects can register as a group. The goal of aggregate projects is to alleviate transaction costs, enable economies of scale, and help ensure an adequate supply of offsets to the market. American Tree Farm System A nonprofit organization that provides a network for small private woodland owners as well as a sustainable forest certification framework. Avoided conversion A forest carbon project type in which land use change is presented in a forested area through a conservation easement. Baseline Harvest Interval In an Extended Rotation Project, the baseline harvest intervals the timber harvest rotation interval that is used for the project's baseline modeling. The regional common practice rotation interval length is usually used for this value. Broadcast fertilization A fertilization method in which the fertilizer is applied broadly and not in spot treatments. Buffer Pool Each project is given an individual risk rating that dictates that a certain percentage of credits are to be held in a registry-wide buffer pool. The buffer pool acts as an insurance mechanism to help recover carbon lost from the forest through unintentional reversal via wildfire, pests, disease, et cetera. Carbon Pools A biological reservoir that accumulates and store carbon. Forest carbon pools include live tree biomass, harvested wood products, and down, dead woody debris. Carbon stocking The amount of carbon contained in a carbon pool. The number of tons of carbon in the standing live trees pool of a forest would be a measure of the carbon stocking. Clean Development Mechanism The emission trading scheme developed for countries regulated under the Kyoto Protocol. Regulated countries could earn emission reduction credits through implementing an emission-reduction program in a developing country. Compliance markets A market in which participation is required by regulation or law. Utilities, corporations, and other large emitters are required to meet certain reductions or mitigate their emissions through the purchase of offsets. Conservation Easement A legal document that removes the threat of development or land use change from a specified land area by placing its development rights in control of a land trust or government entity. The land is to be held into conservation into perpetuity. A type of Improved Forest Management forest carbon project for which the management change is extending the timber harvest rotation in the forest. By increasing the harvest interval, there will be …
Flipping Activity and Subsequent Aftermarket Trading in Malaysian IPOs

This paper examines the aftermarket trading volume following an initial public offering (IPO) in a sample of 243 IPOs listed on Bursa Malaysia between June 2003 and June 2008. Specifically, this study investigates the degree of flipping activity and its relationship with six ex-ante variables including IPO initial returns. Consistent with previous studies, the result of the cross-sectional multiple regression reveals a significantly strong positive relationship between initial returns and flipping activity for IPOs. Initial returns also seem to influence the subsequent weekâ€™s trading volume, but the influence is completely absorbed by flipping activity. The results also show that both institutional investor participation and offer size have significant influences on flipping activity. The results of this study imply that the Malaysian IPO market experiences active flipping activity that, in turn, has a significant role in predicting the subsequent trading activity.
The Use of 'Lucky' Numbers in the Pricing of Chinese A-Share Initial Public Offerings

On July 7, 2010 the Agricultural Bank of China Limited announced the share price of its initial public offering (IPO) for the Chinese domestic market on the Shanghai Stock Exchange at a price of Rmb 2.68. It just so happens that the number 68 reminds Chinese speakers of a prosperous life. The number 8 on its own is considered lucky and pervades Chinese consumer pricing as a marketing tool. We find that twenty-six percent of the IPO prices for the Chinese domestic market between 2000 and 2009 end in the lucky number 8. We also find that other lucky numbers, and lucky number combinations, are favoured in Chinese IPO pricing. The number 4, for which the pronunciation is reminiscent of the word death, is also systematically avoided. In the United States IPO market, most IPO prices are based on the integer. This has been attributed to the negotiation hypothesis, where IPOs priced on the integer signify uncertainty as to the intrinsic value of an IPO. We find no evidence that this is also the case in the Chinese IPO market based on either number 8 or integer price-endings. We do find evidence that issuers and underwriters use number 8 price-endings to capitalise on investor sentiment. This is consistent with the marketing literature, where the number 8 is consistently used as a price-ending in advertising for Chinese consumer products.
Expansion and countrywide dissemination of ST11, ST15 and ST147 ciprofloxacin-resistant CTX-M-15-type beta-lactamase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae epidemic clones in Hungary in 2005--the new 'MRSAs'?

OBJECTIVES To investigate the molecular epidemiology of ciprofloxacin-resistant CTX-M-15-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae epidemic clones (ECs) isolated from six nosocomial outbreaks and sporadic cases during 2005 in Hungary. METHODS Two hundred and eighty-one extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing K. pneumoniae clinical isolates collected from 41 centres were submitted to the National ESBL Reference Laboratory for further investigations. Of the 281 strains, 75 isolates proved to be SHV producers, whereas 6 isolates were ciprofloxacin-susceptible CTX-M-type ESBL producers. One hundred and ninety-six ciprofloxacin-resistant CTX-M-type beta-lactamase-producing isolates collected from 35 centres were subjected to macrorestriction profile analysis. Furthermore, molecular typing was performed by PCR and sequencing of several antibiotic resistance genes, plasmid profile analysis, transfer of resistance determinants and multilocus sequence typing (MLST). RESULTS PFGE revealed the existence of three genetic clusters defined as ECs, where 129 isolates belonged to the previously described Hungarian EC (HEC), 46 isolates to epidemic clone II (EC II) and 21 isolates to epidemic clone III (EC III), respectively. All isolates harboured plasmids ranging from 2.0 to 230 kb. PstI digestion of plasmid DNA from transconjugants/transformants revealed diverse restriction patterns from distinct ECs. Sequence analysis of beta-lactamase genes from 19 selected isolates detected bla(CTX-M-15) and bla(OXA-1) in strains from all three ECs and bla(TEM-1) in EC III isolates located on large plasmids. ISEcpI associated with CTX-M-15 was detected only on a 50 kb non-conjugative plasmid from EC III. MLST identified three allelic profiles: ST 15 (HEC), ST 11 (EC III) and the novel ST 147 (EC II), which correspond to the PFGE clusters, respectively. CONCLUSIONS In 2005, 97% of all CTX-M-producing K. pneumoniae isolates detected across Hungary were highly ciprofloxacin-resistant CTX-M-15 producers and represented just three stable genetic clones.
Dynamic Effect of a Change in the Exchange Rate System: From a Fixed Regime to a Basket-Peg or a Floating Regime

This paper theoretically evaluates the dynamic effects of a shift in an exchange rate system from a fixed regime to a basket peg, or to a floating regime, and obtains transition paths for the shift based on a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model of a small open economy. We apply quantitative analysis using data from the People's Republic of China and Thailand and find that a small open country would be better off shifting to a basket peg or to a floating regime than maintaining a dollar-peg regime with capital controls over the long run. Furthermore, due to the welfare losses associated with volatility in nominal interest rates, the longer the transition period, the larger the benefits of shifting suddenly to a basket-peg regime from a dollar-peg regime than proceeding gradually. Regarding sudden shifts to desired regimes, the welfare gains are higher under a shift to a basket peg if the exchange rate fluctuates significantly. Finally, shifting to a managed-floating regime is less attractive than moving to a basket peg, as the interventions necessary to maintain the exchange rate for certain periods result in higher losses and the authority lacks monetary policy autonomy.
Global and Local Priming Evoke Different Face Processing Strategies: Evidence From An Eye Movement Study.

Recent research has observed two basic eye movement patterns in face recognition: central (fixations are around the nose) and triangular (fixations are on the two eyes and mouth). Here we aim to examine the link between eye movement patterns and engagement of global/local attention. Eye movements of Asian participants were monitored in an old/new face judgment task. Participants received global or local priming by matching two Navon stimuli at the global or local level respectively between the study and recognition phase, and in the beginning of each recognition trial. A hidden Markov model (HMM) based approach (Chuk, Chan, & Hsiao, 2014) was used to analyze the eye movement data. We modeled each participant's eye movement pattern with an HMM, and clustered these HMMs into two general patterns according to their similarities; one of the resulting patterns resembled the central (holistic) pattern, whereas the other resembled the triangular (analytic) pattern (Figure 1). We then calculated the log likelihoods of each participant's eye movement pattern belonging to the two patterns with and without priming. The results showed that compared with the baseline (no priming) condition, local priming significantly increased the likelihood of participants' eye movement pattern being classified as the analytic pattern, whereas global priming did not significantly change the likelihood (Figure 2). This effect can also be seen in fixation maps (Figure 3), although it is relatively harder to interpret the differences. In addition, participants had better recognition performance after local priming than global priming (Figure 4), suggesting an advantage of the analytic strategy in face recognition. Thus, our results suggest that the holistic pattern is linked to engagement of global attention/global information processing, whereas the analytic pattern represents the use of local attention/featural-based processing. Local priming helps participants direct attention to facial features and may consequently enhance recognition performance. Meeting abstract presented at VSS 2015.
Assessing the francophone West Africa market: An ETOP analysis

Very little is known about the business environment in the countries of l'Afrique Occidentale Francaise (or francophone), the French‐speaking countries of West Africa, here referred to as francophone West Africa (FWA). Yet chief executive officers and corporate managers are under increasing pressures to assess the business environment before entering any such overseas markets. Therefore, the aim of paper is to scan the macro‐environmental forces operating in the FWA market. An audit of these external factors produces an “ETOP” framework, describing the current external threats and opportunities for would‐be entrants, and identifying practical implications for international marketing planners. The FWA countries are classic case of an emerging market, about which more deserves to be known, especially by non‐francophone decision makers in multinational corporations.
Combination of Digital Mammography with Semi-automated 3D Breast Ultrasound

This paper describes work aimed at combining 3D ultrasound with full-field digital mammography via a semi-automatic prototype ultrasound scanning mechanism attached to the digital mammography system gantry. Initial efforts to obtain high x-ray and ultrasound image quality through a compression paddle are proving successful. Registration between the x-ray mammogram and ultrasound image volumes is quite promising when the breast is stably compressed. This prototype system takes advantage of many synergies between the co-registered digital mammography and pulse-echo ultrasound image data used for breast cancer detection and diagnosis. In addition, innovative combinations of advanced US and X-ray applications are being implemented and tested along with the basic modes. The basic and advanced applications are those that should provide relatively independent information about the breast tissues. Advanced applications include x-ray tomosynthesis, for 3D delineation of mammographic structures, and non-linear elasticity and 3D color flow imaging by ultrasound, for mechanical and physiological information unavailable from conventional, non-contrast x-ray and ultrasound imaging.
Internationally Diversified Bond Portfolios: The Merits of Active Currency Risk Management

A new statistical procedure is used to test for weak form efficiency in the foreign exchange futures markets. Using daily currency futures prices for the 1976-1990 period, we conclude that successive exchange rate changes have not been independent We examine the implications of this finding for two groups of investors: (1) return seeking investors considering foreign exchange as a separate asset class; (2) international portfolio investors deciding whether or not to currency hedge the foreign exchange rate exposures embedded in their non-dollar investments. Using the currency futures data and monthly data on 10-year dollar and non-dollar bonds, we conclude that active currency risk management, based on a simple application of technical trading signals, can substantially improve the risk-return opportunities for both groups of investors in comparison to passive currency strategies.
Development, validation and reliability of a web-based questionnaire to measure health-related quality of life in dogs.

OBJECTIVES To describe the development, preliminary validation and reliability testing of a shortened web-based form of GUVQuest, a structured questionnaire to measure health-related quality of life in dogs. METHODS The original 109 items were reduced using expert judgement and factor analysis. Validity was established by factor analysis and in a subsequent field trial using a "known groups" approach and classical test theory. Test-retest reliability was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients. RESULTS The instrument comprises 46 items each of which is rated by dog owners using a 7-point Likert scale. Factor analysis revealed a sensible structure containing four health-related quality of life domains (vitality, pain, distress and anxiety) accounting for 64·1% of the variability in the data. The field test involving 125 dogs demonstrated very good discriminative properties and intraclass correlation coefficient values of greater than 0·6. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE This is the first report of a valid and reliable companion animal health-related quality of life instrument, the contemporary approach to animal welfare measurement, which is presented in a web-based format, with automated production of a health-related quality of life profile. It offers major advantages to dog owners, practitioners and researchers.
Regulation of Cyclooxgenase-2 mRNA Stability by Taxanes

Taxanes are widely used to treat malignancies and are known to modulate the transcription of several genes. We investigated the effects of taxanes (docetaxel and paclitaxel) on cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) transcription and mRNA stability in human mammary epithelial cells. As reported previously for paclitaxel, docetaxel stimulated COX-2 transcription by an AP-1-dependent mechanism. Treatment with taxanes also enhanced the stability of COX-2 mRNA. To define the mechanism by which taxanes stabilized COX-2 mRNA, transient transfections were carried out using luciferase expression constructs containing the COX-2 3′-untranslated region (3′-untranslated region (UTR)). The stabilizing effects of taxanes were localized to the AU-rich region of COX-2 3′-UTR. RNA binding studies indicated that taxanes stimulated the binding of HuR to the AU-rich region of the COX-2 3′-UTR. Overexpression of antisense HuR suppressed taxane-mediated induction of COX-2 3′-UTR activity. We next investigated the signal transduction pathway responsible for taxane-mediated induction of COX-2. Taxanes enhanced protein kinase C activity; overexpressing dominant negative PKC-α suppressed taxane-mediated stimulation of both COX-2 3′-UTR and 5′-promoter activities. Interestingly, ERK1/2, JNK, and p38 MAPKs were important for taxane-mediated activation of COX-2 transcription, but only p38 MAPK appeared to be responsible for the increase in COX-2 mRNA stability. MAPKAPK-2, a known target of p38 MAPK, contributed to increased COX-2 mRNA stability following taxane treatment. SB 202190, a selective p38 MAPK inhibitor, and dexamethasone suppressed taxane-mediated stimulation of the COX-2 3′-UTR and binding of HuR. Taken together, these data indicate that taxanes induce COX-2 by stimulating both transcription and mRNA stability. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first evidence that taxanes can promote stabilization of mRNA in addition to modulating gene transcription.
Analysis of false negative rate in sentinel lymph node biopsy of breast cancer : a single centre retrospective study from China

Sentinel lymph node biopsy substituting axillary lymph node dissection has become a routine surgery in many countries but not in China because of the false negative rate. False negative (FN) of sentinel lymph node (SLN) can lead an incorrect assessment of pathological staging. In this study, we retrospectively analyzed the clinic pathological data of 645 breast cancer patients in Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute from January 2012 to December 2015. True positive (TP), True negative (TN) and FN were identified in 383 patients (59.4%), 215 patients (33.3%) and 39 patients (9.2%), respectively. Among FN patients, about 92.3% of them were found that the positive lymph nodes were in Level I and/or Level II. Negative predictive value was 96.4% (215/223). Accuracy rate was 92.7% (494/598). FN rate was likely to occur in patients who were estrogen receptor (ER) negative, progesterone receptor (PR) negative, human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2) positive and less than 3 positive axillary lymph nodes (all P<0.05). Among these four molecular subtypes, HER2-enriched subtype is more likely to be FN (P=0.001). A multivariate logistic regression model confirmed that ER status (OR=0.124, P<0.05), HER2 status (OR=3.703, P<0.05) and the numbers of positive lymph nodes (OR=0.009, P<0.05) were all independent factors predicting FN results. For those patients with high risk factors, such as ER negative, PR negative and HER2 positive, dissection of Level I and Level II lymph node may be a relatively safe measure, considering the limited medical conditions, such as unskilled surgeons and poor equipment conditions.
[Prevalence of dyslipidemia in outpatients of the Spanish health service: the HISPALIPID Study].

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE We intended to estimate the prevalence of dyslipidemia among patients attending outpatient clinics of the Spanish health service. PATIENTS AND METHOD HISPALIPID is a multicenter, cross-sectional study performed in 33,913 patients (55.7% women) with a mean age of 54.6 +/- 18.3 years attended in outpatient clinics across 15 of the 17 autonomous communities of Spain. 1,461 physicians (78.8% primary care physicians, and 21.2% specialists) participated in the study. Patients were considered having dyslipidemia if their doctor had established a previous diagnosis. RESULTS A total of 8,256 patients (52.4% women, mean age 62.4 +/- 12.4 years) had been diagnosed with dyslipidemia, representing a global prevalence of 24.3% (CI95%: 23.8-24.8) (M: 26.2%; W:22.9%; P<0.001). The communities with the higher and lower prevalence were the Canary Islands (33.9%) and Cantabria (18.6%), respectively. About 87% dyslipemic patients presented an additional cardiovascular risk factor and 36.7% of dyslipemic patients had an associated cardiovascular disease. CONCLUSIONS The prevalence of dyslipidemia is high in patients attending outpatient clinics of the Spanish health service (one out of four patients). In addition, these patients are at a high cardiovascular risk.
Altered Cardiac Histology Following Apical Right Ventricular Pacing in Patients with Congenital Atrioventricular Block

Previous studies have demonstrated that right ventricular apical pacing inherently alters ventricular contraction, regional blood flow, wall stress, and predisposes to diminished function. However, histological consequences of chronic apical pacing potentially contributing to the observed ventricular dysfunction remain conjectural. Previous canine studies have demonstrated histopathological cellular abnormalities with apically initiated ventricular pacing that may result in the observed diminished ventricular function. To determine if comparable adverse changes also occur in the clinical setting, 16 endomyocardial biopsies were obtained from 14 age‐matched patients with congenital complete atrioventricular block (CCAVB) and otherwise normal anatomy, divided into two groups: eight biopsies (median patient age 15.5 years) from patients prior to pacemaker implant and another eight biopsies (median patient age 16 years) from patients following 3–12 years (median 5.5) of chronic ventricular pacing. In one patient, biopsy samples were obtained before and after pacing. Results demonstrated a significant (P < 0.05) increase in histopathological alterations among the patient biopsy samples following pacing, consisting of myofiber size variation, fibrosis, fat deposition, sclerosis, and mitochondrial morphological changes. These findings indicate that chronic apical right heart ventricular pacing may adversely alter myocellular growth, epecially among the young, on the cellular and subcellular level, potentially contributing to the diminished function observed clincially.