Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Empirical Test of Macroeconomic Variables and Stock Market Returns in Asian Emerging Market

There has been a number of documented evidence examining the relationship between macroeconomic variables and stock returns in developed countries. However, the effect of changes in macroeconomic variables on Asian stock markets is an interesting area to research with, therefore there is a need to address such issue in these developing countries. This study attempts to investigate the relationships among stock prices, exchange rates, interest rates, trade balances, expected inflation, industrial production and money supply, by using data from six selected Asian countries namely Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia. The Multi index model (MIM) and the Error Correction Model (ECM) were applied to capture the dynamic relationship among these variables over the period of 1 990- 1 to 2000-4. The analysed were divided into two specifications -efficient market (Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia) and the less efficient market (Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia). The empirical results of this study indicate that consistent with many studies in developed markets, stock prices and macroeconomic variables are integrated in the long run. However in the short run, the results are country specific. The general performance of Hong Kong market is caused by interest rates and money supply. For Singapore, the results showed that trade balances, interest rates and money supply were the factors for stock pricing. Interest rates, exchange rates and money supply appeared to be the factors influencing the stock price fluctuations in Malaysia. While for Philippines the results indicated that stock prices are affected by lag exchange rate, lag trades balances and lag interest rates. For Thailand the results found that expected inflation, exchange rate and interest rate were the factors for stock pricing. For Indonesia, the finding showed that interest rates and money supply were dominant factors in pricing stock returns. Overall, for the efficient market the findings found that interest rates and money supplies appeared to be the major common factors affecting stock price fluctuations. However, in the less efficient market, the result indicated that interest rates were the only common factor affecting prices in Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia stock market. The results documented in this study provide better insights on the relationship between stock markets and major economic variables in selected Asian countries. Such evidence, lead to better decisions for investors with cross border investments and to policy marker on how to adjust policies in order to minimize stock prices volatility subsequently improve market's performance. These findings raise several important implications for stabilizing the stock market. Firstly, the result appeared to suggest country specific macroeconomic variables influencing stock markets and secondly, there was one or two common macro economic variables influencing the Asian countries.
Is mercury in Tibetan Medicine toxic? Clinical, neurocognitive and biochemical results of an initial cross-sectional study

Mercury an important therapeutic substance in Tibetan Medicine undergoes complex “detoxification” prior to inclusion in multi-ingredient formulas. In an initial cross-sectional study, patients taking Tibetan Medicine for various conditions were evaluated for mercury toxicity. Two groups were identified: Group 1, patients taking “ Tsothel ” the most important detoxified mercury preparation and Group 2, patients taking other mercury preparations or mercury free Tibetan Medicine. Atomic fluorescence spectrometry of Tibetan Medicine showed mercury consumption 130 µg/kg/day (Group 1) and 30 µg/kg/day (Group 2) (P ≤ 0.001), levels above EPA (RfDs) suggested threshold (0.3 µg/kg /day) for oral chronic exposure. Mean duration of Tibetan Medicine treatment was 9 ± 17 months (range 3–116) (Group 1) and 5 ± 1.96 months (range 1–114) (Group 2) (NS) with cumulative days of mercury containing Tibetan Medicine, 764 days ± 1214 (range 135–7330) vs. 103 days ± 111 (range 0–426), respectively (P ≤ 0.001). Comparison of treatment groups with healthy referents (Group 3) not taking Tibetan Medicine showed no significant differences in prevalence of 23 non-specific symptoms of mercury toxicity, abnormal neurological, cardiovascular and dental findings and no correlation with mercury exposure variables; consumption, cumulative treatment days, blood/ urine Hg. Liver and renal function tests in treatment groups were not significantly increased compared to referents, with mean urine Beta2 Microglobulin within the normal range and not significantly associated with Hg exposure variables after correcting for confounding variables. Neurocognitive testing showed no significant intergroup differences for Wechsler Memory Scale, Grooved Pegboard, Visual Retention, but Group1 scores were better for Mini-Mental, Brief Word Learning, Verbal Fluency after correcting for confounding variables. These results suggest mercury containing Tibetan Medicine does not have appreciable adverse effects and may exert a possible beneficial effect on neurocognitive function. Since evidence of mercury as a toxic heavy metal, however, is well known, further analysis of literature on mercury use in other Asian traditional systems is highly suggested prior to further studies.
Intercontinental migration of dominant technologies

Watch industry, the mainstay of the Swiss economy, migrated in 1972 to 1976 through USA to Japan, only to continue its route towards Hong Kong and Singapore. The worlds leading manufacturing nation of cameras and optics, Germany, lost them, during 1974 to 1980, to Japan, as well as their fine mechanics industry to the Far East. These migrations were very rapid, only a couple of years between the beginning of the process and the total collapse in the previous home country. The world technology scene changes constantly and the intercontinental migration is very fast, especially in the new emerging technologies. USA having been the leading power in supersonic military aircraft, Europe developed the first supersonic civil air transport, the Concorde. Originally an American invention, the computer industry has now migrated to the Far East, notably to Taiwan. The new massive applications of mobile communications are today in the hands of the Finns and the Swedes, and the Germans and the French hold the mass use of chip card applications. Will they be able to maintain their leading positions in these new, emerging technologies? What will be the next dominant technologies, and who will hold them? What is being left to the US?
Review: Immunobiology of Preeclampsia

Preeclampsia has been recognized clinically since the time of Hippocrates: however its etiology and pathophysiology remain enigmatic. This pregnancy‐specific syndrome typically presents in late pregnancy as hypertension, edema, and proteinuria. Investigations over the past 15 years have revealed that preeclampsia is associated with abnormal placentation, reduced placental perfusion, endothelial cell dysfunction, and systemic vasospasm. Since it occurs more commonly in Primigravidae and in women with underlying collagen‐vascular diseases, an immunological component has long been suspected. Increased prevalence in high‐order and molar pregnancies and those associated with increased placental mass suggests that trophoblastic volume and fetal antigen load are correlated with the syndrome. Epidemiological reports indicate that the prevalence of preeclampsia is decreased in women who received heterologous blood transfusions, practiced oral sex, or when a long period of cohabitation preceded an established pregnancy. Conversely, the use of condoms as a primary mode of contraception is associated with a higher risk of preeclampsia. These studies suggest that prior exposure to foreign or paternal antigens imparts a protection against the likelihood of developing preeclampsia. Clinical evidence of cellular and humoral immune dysfunction is associated with the syndrome. Fibrin and complement deposition and “foam” cells in atherosis lesions resemble the histopathology of renal allograft rejection. Relative T‐cell, natural killer cell, and neutrophil activation have been reported in preeclampsia and circulating cytokines and antiphospholipid antibodies are more prevalent in preeclamptic than in normal pregnant women. These abnormalities are consistent with the systemic endothelial cell dysfunction that has been postulated as a pathophysiological feature of preeclampsia. While such associations do not prove causality, they suggest testable hypotheses for continued basic and clinical investigation of this major complication of human pregnancy.
How the usage of mobile multimedia internet devices changes internet TV consumer behaviors in Taiwan: Using PPS.tv (PPStream) as an example

With the rapid progress of internet technology, the manner in which the audience watches videos via traditional TV could differ when watching internet TV. In addition, with the unbounded capabilities for sharing information and for being online anywhere, the mobile multimedia internet device (MMID), that is, a device such as the smart phone or tablet, is technologically taking the world by storm. The MMID offer a different way for audiences to watch videos and TV programs, and the audience is no longer bound to the TV set or computer. PPS.tv (PPStream/PPS TV) is a Chinese peer-to-peer streaming video network software and now it has a MMID Apps version. The majority of PPS.tv channels are from East Asia, primarily Mainland China, Taiwan, Japan and Singapore. This study aims to investigate how these technological changes and other factors impact consumers' TV-watching behaviors. The researchers launched an online survey to gather data from 659 PPS Taiwanese internet TV (PPStream and PPS App) users to analyze their behaviors in viewing TV programs or videos, and how the usage of MMID changes their Internet TV watching behaviors.
Temporal Variations in the Spatial Distribution of Australia's Chinese Communities

The immigrant ethnic Chinese communities in Australia have emigrated from a diversity of countries, predominantly in the Asia-Pacific region, with the main source countries being Malaysia, the People's Republic of China, Singapore and Viet Nam, as well as Hong Kong Taiwan. In addition to these immigrant populations, there are also expanding second and later generations of Chinese-Australians. This paper describes the changing spatial distribution and concentration of Chinese communities in Australia over the two past decades, through an examination of national Statistical Local Area (SLA) level data from recent Australian Censuses. Rather than focus analysis on country of birth data, this research analyses data of individuals (i) of Chinese ancestry and (ii) who spoke a Chinese language at home. A number of SLA factors are considered in an attempt to provide an initial discussion of meso-level factors which have contributed to changes in the Chinese-Australian distributions and concentrations. The data reveal a contrasting picture of the spatial distribution and concentration of the Chinese-Australian communities, and indicate that there are few areas of 'high' Chinese spatial concentration, and that overall there is an increasing dispersion of Chinese-Australians into the broader Australian community.
A Begomovirus DNAβ-Encoded Protein Binds DNA, Functions as a Suppressor of RNA Silencing, and Targets the Cell Nucleus

ABSTRACT Our previous results demonstrated that the DNAβ satellite (Y10β) associated with Tomato yellow leaf curl China virus Y10 isolate (TYLCCNV-Y10) is essential for induction of leaf curl symptoms in plants and that transgenic expression of its βC1 gene in Nicotiana plants induces virus-like symptoms. In the present study, in vitro DNA binding activity of the βC1 proteins of Y10β and DNAβ (Y35β) found in the Tobacco curly shoot virus Y35 isolate (TbCSV-Y35) were studied following their expression as six-His fusion proteins in Escherichia coli. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays and UV cross-linking experiments revealed that βC1 proteins could bind both single-stranded and double-stranded DNA without size or sequence specificity. Suppression of green fluorescent protein (GFP) transgene silencing was observed with the new leaves of GFP-expressing Nicotiana benthamiana plants coinoculated by TYLCCNV-Y10 plus Y10β or by TbCSV-Y35 plus Y35β. In a patch agroinfiltration assay, the transiently expressed βC1 gene of Y10β or Y35β was able to suppress host RNA silencing activities and permitted the accumulation of high levels of GFP mRNA in the infiltrated leaf patches of GFP transgenic N. benthamiana plants. The βC1 protein of Y10β accumulated primarily in the nuclei of plant and insect cells when fused with β-glucuronidase or GFP and immunogold labeling showed that the βC1 protein is present in the nuclei of infected N. benthamiana plants. A mutant version of Y10β carrying the mutations within the putative nuclear localization sequence of the Y10 βC1 protein failed to induce disease symptoms, suppress RNA silencing, or accumulate in the nucleus, suggesting that nuclear localization of the βC1 protein is a key requirement for symptom induction and silencing suppression.
Proton pump inhibitors and risk of periampullary cancers—A nested case–control study

Considerable attention has been focused on long‐term use of proton pump inhibitor (PPI) medications in relation to increased risk of cancer via stimulation of DNA‐damaged cells. The aim of this study is to examine the dose‐dependent effect of PPI on periampullary cancers in a national population‐based cohort. A nested case–control analysis was constructed based on Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database and the Taiwan Cancer Registry between the years 2000 and 2010. Cases involving patients diagnosed with periampullary cancers were selected and controls were matched to cases according to age, sex and observational period. A “PPI user” was defined as any patient receiving more than 28 cumulative defined daily doses as measured by prescription drug claims. Conditional logistic regression analysis was conducted to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) according to the level of PPI exposure. A total of 7,681 cases and 76,762 matched controls were included with a mean follow‐up period of 6.6 years (SD: 2.0). The odds of PPI exposure in patients with periampullary cancers were higher than that of control patients with an adjusted OR of 1.35 (95% CIs: 1.16–1.57). Our results also showed that PPI exposure was slightly linked to periampullary cancers in dose‐dependent manner. A similar association was observed in patients who solely took PPI but no eradication therapy for Helicobacter pylori infection. Long‐term PPI use was associated with an increased risk of periampullary cancers in the current population‐based study. Physicians must weigh potential risks of long‐term maintenance against therapeutic benefit.
Prevalence of dementia in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract Background There are several existing systematic reviews of prevalence of dementia for mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, but several studies have been newly reported. The aim of this study is to update prevalence data in this region and test for variation across geographical areas and time periods using the new dataset. Methods Twenty prevalence studies identified from World Alzheimer Report 2015 (January 2011–March 2015) and an updated search (March 2015–February 2017) were added to the original dataset (N = 76). Meta-regression was used to investigate geographical variation and time trends, taking methodological factors and characteristics of study population into account, and to estimate prevalence and number of people with dementia by geographical area. Results Compared with northern China, the prevalence of dementia was lower in the central China [-1.0; 95% confidence interval (CI):−2.2, 0.3], south China (−1.7; 95% CI: −3.1, −0.3), Hong Kong and Taiwan (−3.0; 95% CI: −5.0, −1.0) but appeared to be higher in western China (2.8; 95% CI: 0.1, 5.5) after adjusting for methodological variation. The increasing trend from pre-1990 to post-2010 periods was considerably attenuated when taking into account methodological factors and geographical areas. The updated estimated number of people with dementia in all these areas is 9.5 million (5.3%; 95% CI: 4.3, 6.3) in the population aged 60 or above. Conclusions Geographical variation in dementia prevalence is confirmed in this update, whereas evidence on increasing trends is still insufficient. Differing societal development across areas provides an opportunity to investigate risk factors at the population level operating across diverse life course experiences. Such research could advance global primary prevention of dementia.
Men Who Buy Sex: A Survey in the Greater Vancouver Regional District

Les auteurs de cet article passent en revue la documentation canadienne sur les hommes qui achetent des services sexuels et presentent les resultats d'une enquete autoadministree aupres de 80 de ces hommes, enquete qui a ete realisee dans le Grand Vancouver. l'article decrit les caracteristiques demographiques generates de l'echantillon et certains aspects de leur comportement d'achat sexuel. En raison de l'inquietude accrue concernant le grand nombre de travailleurs du sexe sur la rue qui ont disparu ou qui ont ete tues, et de facon a apporter quelques reflexions au debat sur le prohibitionnisme qui allegue que la violence est omnipresente dans la prostitution, les auteurs examinent les actes de violence commis sur les travailleurs du sexe et autres personnes, et declares par eux. Ils se penchent egalement sur les experiences des hommes qui ont ete victimes de violence de la part de travailleurs du sexe. This paper reviews the Canadian literature on men who purchase sexual services and presents the results of a self-administered survey conducted in Greater Vancouver of 80 such men. The paper describes the general demographic characteristics of the sample and selected aspects of their sex-buying behaviour. Because of heightened concern about the large number of street-level sex workers who have gone missing or been murdered, and in order to offer some reflections on the prohibitionist argument that violence in prostitution is ubiquitous, the paper examines the self-reported commission of violence against sex workers and other people. We also examine their experiences of being victimized by sex workers.
Culture and Negotiation Strategy

In this article the authors investigate the relationship between culture and joint gains by examining the role of information sharing and power strategies in intracultural negotiations. Previously, the authors found that the relationship between cultural values or norms and joint gains was uncertain in six cultures: France, Russia, Japan, Hong Kong, Brazil, and the United States. Of the five values and norms measured, only norms for information sharing in negotiation were directly related to joint gains. This article explores and extends prior findings by investigating the strategies used by negotiators in the same six cultures. Cultures that maximized joint gains used direct information-sharing strategies or a combination of indirect and direct strategies. Power strategies may help or hurt joint gains, depending on a culture's values and norms for power and whether or not power-based influence is used in conjunction with sufficient information exchange. The findings suggest that understanding the other party's cultural characteristics and strategies can help negotiators plan how to focus on information exchange and deal with unusual power strategies that they may encounter.
One Country, Two Systems

A content analysis of 1387 commercials broadcast in China and Hong Kong in 1993 and 1998 was conducted using Cheng and Schweitzer's framework of cultural values. The five cultural values that dominated Chinese television advertising were ‘modernity’, ‘family’, ‘tradition’, ‘technology’ and ‘collectivism’. The five dominant cultural values in Hong Kong television advertising were ‘quality’, ‘effectiveness’, ‘economy’, ‘enjoyment’ and ‘modernity’. Hong Kong commercials used more western values, whereas Chinese commercials used more eastern ones. Chinese commercials used more symbolic values, while Hong Kong commercials used more utilitarian ones. The pattern of cultural values reflected in Chinese commercials was more volatile than that of Hong Kong commercials. The use of a two-way ANOVA model indicated that product category had a greater impact on cultural values than the time dimension.
Diagnostic tests for rheumatoid arthritis: comparison of anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies, anti-keratin antibodies and IgM rheumatoid factors.

OBJECTIVES To examine the value of anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) antibodies, anti-keratin antibodies (AKA) and immunoglobulin M rheumatoid factors (IgM RF) in discriminating between rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and other rheumatic diseases, and to determine whether the clinical manifestations or severity of erosions in RA are associated with anti-CCP positivity. METHODS In a cross-sectional study, we determined the concentrations or titres of these three markers in 179 RA patients and 50 controls. Erosions were quantified using the Larsen score in 129 patients. RESULTS Sensitivity was highest for IgM RF (75%), followed by anti-CCP antibodies (68%) and AKA (46%). Specificity was highest for anti-CCP antibodies (96%), followed by AKA (94%) and IgM RF (74%). A correlation with clinical manifestations and severity of erosions was observed mainly for IgM RF positivity. CONCLUSIONS With their excellent specificity, anti-CCP antibodies can be useful in establishing the diagnosis of RA, but IgM RF is a better predictor of disease severity.
Teaching in offshore programmes: an assessment of university faculty’s self-efficacy, cultural competence and preparedness

Abstract This study aims to examine the teacher self-efficacy and cultural competence of university faculty in the context of offshore programmes, and the impact of these two constructs on teaching satisfaction, intention and preparedness. A questionnaire survey collected data from the faculty members of universities in Taiwan, a non-English-speaking country, which launched offshore programmes in Vietnam. It then applies structural equation modelling technique to estimate the path coefficients and test its proposed research model. The analysis reveals that in the context of teaching in offshore programmes, cultural competence is a major factor determining university faculty’s teaching self-efficacy, and has an indirect effect, through the direct effect of teaching self-efficacy, on satisfaction, intention and preparedness. It is surprising though that faculty members are found very confident of their self-efficacy when teaching in English in offshore programmes, even though none of them are native English speakers.
A Review of Internet Addiction on the Basis of Different Countries (2007–2017)

This chapter presents a review of Internet addiction on the basis of different countries between the years of 2007 and 2017. For this purpose, the term “addiction” is explained, some addiction types are examined, the differences between Internet addiction and the other ones are given and the Internet addiction status of different countries are presented. In today’s world, Internet addiction is a privileged problem in almost all of the countries but especially a few countries have important number of studies about the subject. The most studies are completed in China, Turkey, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Korea. In this chapter, studies about these countries and some other ones are investigated. These studies show that the “Far East” is suffering from the problem a bit more than the others.