Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
FIN Around the World: The Contribution of Financing Activity to Profitability

We study how the availability of domestic credit influences the contribution that financing activities make to a firm’s return on equity (ROE). Using a sample of 51,866 firms from 69 countries, we find that financing activities contribute more to a firm’s ROE in countries with higher domestic credit. The higher contribution of financing activities is not driven by firms taking greater leverage in these countries, but by firms realizing a higher spread (i.e., a greater difference in operating performance and borrowing cost) when more domestic credit is available. Also, we find that firms partially substitute trade credit for financial credit, with large firms exhibiting the greatest rate of substitution. For small firms, the rate of substitution improves with the country’s available domestic credit, while large firms are insensitive to this friction. The findings suggest that both country and firm-level factors have a significant impact on how financing activities contribute to corporate performance.
[Hemodilution therapy in patients with acute anterior ischemic optic neuropathy].

A prospective study was performed in 22 patients with an anterior ischaemic optic neuropathy (AION). All patients underwent iso- (Hct > or = 42%) or hypervolemic (Hct < 42%) haemodilution for 10 days with daily infusion of 250 ml hydroxyethyl starch (MW 200,000/0.5, 10% HAES-sterile) in combination with pentoxifylline (p.o.: 1200 mg/day; i.v.: 300 mg/day; Trental). Only patients with recent AION (less than 2 weeks' duration of symptoms) were considered for the prospective trial. Clinical, haemodynamic (arterio-venous passage time) and rheological (haematocrit, plasma viscosity, erythrocyte aggregation) data of all patients were recorded before therapy and after 10 days. An improvement of central vision by 2 or more lines was seen in 7 patients after 10 days. Initially the arterio-venous passage time was significantly prolonged in patients (2.42 +/- 0.7 s) with AION compared with healthy volunteers (1.45 +/- 0.4 s). After the 10-day trial arterio-venous passage time was significantly shorter than baseline values. In addition, the initially elevated plasma viscosity (1.33 +/- 0.1 mPa) was significantly lowered by haemodilution therapy.
Differential Capacitance of the Electrical Double Layer in Imidazolium-Based Ionic Liquids: Influence of Potential, Cation Size, and Temperature

The interfaces formed at glassy carbon electrodes in three low-temperature ionic liquids (1-methyl-3-ethylimidazolium chloride, emimCl; 1-methyl-3-butylimidazolium chloride, bmimCl; and 1-methyl-3-hexylimidazolium chloride, hmimCl) were investigated by cyclic voltammetry and impedance spectroscopy. The potential dependence of the differential double layer capacitance was measured at several temperatures between 80 and 140 °C, and the temperature response was found to be broadly similar to that obtained with high-temperature molten salts. The differential capacitance/potential curves have a minimum and two side branches. The minimum corresponds to the point of zero charge. The differential capacitance increases in the order hmimCl < bmimCl < emimCl because the double layer is thinner when imidazolium (Rmim) cations with shorter alkyl chain lengths are used. The impedance spectra and capacitance curves indicate that cations are adsorbed at the open-circuit potential and that their surface excess concentrati.
Comparison of Eyedrop Instillation Technique with and without a Delivery Device in Inexperienced Patients

Purpose To compare the instillation of eyedrops with and without Xal-Ease® delivery device in inexperienced patients based on patient observation and answers to a questionnaire. Methods This prospective study included consecutive patients considered inexperienced in instilling eyedrops. After a short explanation about the methods, drop instillation technique was evaluated with and without the device. Subjects also completed a survey regarding drop administration and satisfaction. Successful instillation was defined as instilling a single drop in the eye without touching the eye with the bottle tip on the first attempt. Results The overall rate of successful instillation (43%) was the same for both techniques (with or without the device). Without the device, the bottle tip touched the eye or periocular tissues in 8 eyes (35%) compared with 0 (0%) with the Xal-Ease® (p<0.01). The number of eyedrops dispensed was significantly higher with Xal-Ease® (1.4 ± 0.5 without the device versus 2.0 ± 1.1 with Xal-Ease®; p = 0.03). Using the Xal-Ease® device, 13 (57%) of the patients needed to make more than one attempt, versus 6 (26%) patients without the device (p = 0.04). Overall, 9 (39%) preferred traditional instillation and 14 (61%) preferred to use the device. Conclusions Xal-Ease® successfully decreased mechanical contact of the tip of the bottle. However, Xal-Ease® failed to help inexperienced subjects dispense fewer drops, or improve accuracy, suggesting that more training might be needed to achieve a good eyedrop administration technique with the device.
A follow-up study of the grain elevator workers in the Port of Vancouver.

Abstract A second respiratory survey was conducted on 587 grain elevator workers in the Port of Vancouver and on 111 civic workers, 25 years after the first health survey. The prevalence of respiratory symptoms and lung function findings among grain elevator workers in the second survey were almost identical with those in the first health survey, even though the dust concentration was lower in the elevators during the second survey. The longitudinal study in 396 grain workers showed that the prevalence of respiratory symptoms increased slightly during the second health survey among workers who had the same smoking habits during both surveys. Of the smokers who had respiratory symptoms or lung function impair-ment in the first survey, 23.5% followed our advice and gave up smoking; the prevalence of cough and sputum pro-duction decreased among these workers. The annual decline in function was greater for grain workers than civic workers particularly among workes over the age of 50 years when the differences.
The Effect of High- and Low-Glycemic Index Energy Restricted Diets on Plasma Lipid and Glucose Profiles in Type 2 Diabetic Subjects with Varying Glycemic Control

Objective: To determine whether glycemic index (GI) differentially affects improved glucose and lipid profiles observed during weight loss in overweight subjects previously diagnosed with type 2 diabetes with variable glucose tolerance. Methods: Twenty-three female and twenty-two male overweight subjects participated in 12 weeks of energy restriction (average BMI 33.2 kg/m2, age 56.7 years, glycated hemoglobin (GHb) 6.7%). After a four-week run-in on a high saturated fat (SFA) diet (1540 kcal/day, 17% SFA), the free-living subjects were randomly assigned to either a high- (75 GI units) or low- (43 GI units) GI diet (1440 kcal/day, 60% carbohydrate, 5% SFA) for eight weeks. Weight, serum lipids, plasma glucose and glycated hemoglobin were measured every four weeks. An oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was also performed at baseline, weeks 4 and 12. From the baseline OGTT results subjects were divided into three groups of low, median and high glucose tolerance. Results: At baseline, BMI, age and glycated hemoglobin concentrations were not different between subjects allocated to the high- or low-GI diets. After four weeks, weight loss was 3.6 ± 0.3 kg. Fasting glucose (−5.6%), glycated hemoglobin (−2.8%), area under the glucose curve (−13.0%) and triglyceride (−13.8%) concentrations were reduced (p < 0.02). Between weeks 4 and 12 reductions were observed in weight (−4.9%), fasting glucose (−4.6%), area under glucose curve (−10.1%), glycated hemoglobin (−7.2%), triglyceride (−7.5%) and LDL-C (−13.2%) concentrations. Weight loss was not different between low and high-GI diets. However, glycated hemoglobin was reduced twofold more in subjects consuming a low-GI diet as compared to subjects consuming a high-GI diet, but this was not statistically significant. LDL concentrations were also reduced more in subjects with low glucose tolerance on the low-GI diet (p = 0.02). Conclusion: Weight loss produces substantial improvements in glycemic control and lipoprotein metabolism. Lowering the glycemic index of high carbohydrate, low fat diets increases the fall in LDL cholesterol in subjects with type 2 diabetes with low glucose tolerance, but has little effect on glycemic control.
Redundant function of DNA ligase 1 and 3 in alternative end-joining during immunoglobulin class switch recombination

Significance DNA ligase IV (Lig4) is essential for nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ), the major pathway for repairing DNA double-strand breaks in mammalian cells. An ill-defined alternative end-joining (A-EJ) pathway can also mediate end-joining in cells deficient in NHEJ, although A-EJ is kinetically slower and less accurate than NHEJ. Here, we report that either Lig1 or Lig3 can mediate alternative end-joining in Lig4 knockout cells. Cells having only one ligase (Lig1 or nuclear Lig3) are capable of DNA replication and DNA repair after exposure to a wide range of genotoxins. These results demonstrate the remarkable (and unexpected) plasticity of DNA ligases in mammalian cells. Nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ) is the major DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair pathway in mammals and resolves the DSBs generated during both V(D)J recombination in developing lymphocytes and class switch recombination (CSR) in antigen-stimulated B cells. In contrast to the absolute requirement for NHEJ to resolve DSBs associated with V(D)J recombination, DSBs associated with CSR can be resolved in NHEJ-deficient cells (albeit at a reduced level) by a poorly defined alternative end-joining (A-EJ) pathway. Deletion of DNA ligase IV (Lig4), a core component of the NHEJ pathway, reduces CSR efficiency in a mouse B-cell line capable of robust cytokine-stimulated CSR in cell culture. Here, we report that CSR levels are not further reduced by deletion of either of the two remaining DNA ligases (Lig1 and nuclear Lig3) in Lig4−/− cells. We conclude that in the absence of Lig4, Lig1, and Lig3 function in a redundant manner in resolving switch region DSBs during CSR.
Robust low-power multi-terminal STT-MRAM

Bi-directional write current for writing `1' and `0', and shared read and write current paths severely limit the design space of spin-transfer torque MRAMs (STT-MRAM). Failure mitigation techniques proposed in the literature may be insufficient for realizing the full potential of STT-MRAMs at scaled MTJ dimensions due to asymmetries in MTJ characteristics and in access transistor drive-ability. This paper shows how STT-MRAM based on multi-terminal structures can overcome some of the above design constraints, leading to robust low-power STT-MRAM suitable for on-chip cache applications.
Magnetic field influence on the ecton processes ignition and sustainment

The dynamics of the dense pulsed plasma of the explosive emission center has been considered with taking into account applied magnetic field influence on the ignition and sustainment of the ecton processes. The transient spark stage and arc stage of a vacuum discharge have been analyzed from point of view non-stationary explosive-like behavior of the ecton cycles. It has been proposed that for a high-energy ion flux during the spark stage an intense sputtering and erosion plasma production could be responsible for the new ectons ignition under the cathode flares action. It has been found that the polarization current jφ = σvplB/c induced by explosive expanding of the ecton plasma (vpt~10 km/s) across the magnetic field give rise to the additional positive current density at the retrograde side of the ecton plasma. Taking into account a critical value of the positive current density from the plasma to surface, jcr of about 0.1-1 MA/cm2 one results in roughly linear dependence of the average displacement, δx, from the magnetic field. The corresponding retrograde drift velocity, vdrift/B, is about 40 m/s/T (for jcr = 1 MA/cm2) and 1300-1900 m/s/T (foryc,= 0.1 MA/cm2).
Penicillium astrolabium and Penicillium neocrassum, two new species isolated from grapes and their phylogenetic placement in the P. olsonii and P. brevicompactum clade

We describe two new terverticillate Penicillium species isolated from grapes on the basis of phenotypic and phylogenetic differences from known species. The strains were isolated in the course of a study to establish the mycobiota of grapes in Portugal. Penicillium astrolabium is phenotypically similar to P. olsonii but differs from it by two cultural characters, growth rates and the colony reverse color. P. neocrassum is similar to P. brevicompactum but is readily distinguished by sclerotia production. Phylogenetically P. astrolabium and P. neocrassum are placed respectively in the P. olsonii and P. brevicompactum clade. Multilocus analysis confirmed the genetic distinctiveness of both species. The parsimony trees obtained for ITS-lsu rDNA region and two protein coding genes, calmodulin and β-tubulin, show congruence for all the species in the Olsonii series: P. brevicompactum, P. bialowiezense, P. olsonii, P. astrolabium and P. neocrassum, indicating that these taxa are genetically well isolated.
Influence of sex and limb dominance on lower extremity joint mechanics during unilateral land-and-cut manoeuvres

ABSTRACT Limb dominance theory suggests that females tend to be more one-leg dominant and exhibit greater kinematic and kinetic leg asymmetries than their male counterparts, contributing to the increased risk of anterior cruciate ligament injury among female athletes. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the influences of sex and limb dominance on lower extremity joint mechanics during unilateral land-and-cut manoeuvres. Twenty-one women and 21 men completed land-and-cut manoeuvres on their dominant limb as well as their nondominant limb. Three-dimensional kinematics and kinetics were calculated bilaterally for the entire stance phase of the manoeuvre. Women performed land-and-cut manoeuvres with altered hip motions and loads as well as greater knee abduction at touchdown compared to men. Dominant limb land-and-cut manoeuvres where characterised by decreased hip flexion at touchdown as well as decreased hip flexion and adduction range of motion compared to nondominant land-and-cuts regardless of sex. The observed sex differences are consistent with previous research regarding mechanisms underlying the sex disparity in anterior cruciate ligament injury rates. However, observed differences regarding limb dominances appear somewhat arbitrary and did not suggest that the dominant or nondominant limb would be at increased risk of anterior cruciate ligament injury.
Kinetic studies on the intramolecular acyl migration of β-1-O-acyl glucuronides: Application to the glucuronides of (R)- and (S)-ketoprofen, (R)- and (S)-hydroxy-ketoprofen metabolites, and tolmetin by 1H-NMR spectroscopy

Conjugation of carboxylate drugs with D-glucuronic acid is of considerable interest because of the inherent reactivity of the resulting β-1-O-acyl glucuronides. These conjugates can degrade by spontaneous hydrolysis and internal acyl migration. β-1-O-acyl glucuronides and their acyl migration products can also react covalently with macromolecules with potential toxicological consequences. The spontaneous degradation of the diastereoisomeric β-1-O-acyl glucuronide metabolites of the racemic drug ketoprofen, two of its ring-hydroxylated metabolites and of tolmetin β-1-O-acyl glucuronide was investigated by 1H-NMR spectroscopy in buffer solutions, at pH 7.4 and 37°C. A plot of the logarithm of the peak integrals against time revealed first-order kinetics. Degradation rates and half-lives were calculated for each glucuronide using first-order reaction equations. Tolmetin glucuronide had the fastest degradation rate, whilst all of the ketoprofen-related glucuronides had similar degradation rates. The degradation of the diastereoisomeric glucuronides was stereoselective, with the rate for the (S)-isomer always slower compared with the (R)-isomer by approximately a factor of 2.
Copula-Based Regression Estimation and Inference

We investigate a new approach to estimating a regression function based on copulas. The main idea behind this approach is to write the regression function in terms of a copula and marginal distributions. Once the copula and the marginal distributions are estimated, we use the plug-in method to construct our new estimator. Because various methods are available in the literature for estimating both a copula and a distribution, this idea provides a rich and flexible family of regression estimators. We provide some asymptotic results related to this copula-based regression modeling when the copula is estimated via profile likelihood and the marginals are estimated nonparametrically. We also study the finite sample performance of the estimator and illustrate its usefulness by analyzing data from air pollution studies.
Children with developmental coordination disorders

Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is not a new entity. Over the centuries different terms have been used to describe children with a predominant picture of motor difficulties. It is defined on the basis of a failure of the acquisition of skills in both gross and fine movements, which is not explicable on the basis of impaired general learning and similar exposure to opportunity to gain motor skills as their peers. DCD is often an overlooked developmental problem by clinicians. However, there is extensive evidence that these difficulties can have considerable impact on children’s lives as they struggle to plan and organize themselves. They commonly affect the child both in school and at home, and contrast with similar aged children who acquire these skills with little effort. In 1925, Dupre and others1 referred to the debilite motrice (motorically deficient). Clumsiness has been seen to be a more pejorative term, and was first used by Orton2 to describe a group of children with motor difficulties. Pioneering studies started to make their mark in the 1960s.3–6 In 1962, the first article on clumsy children appeared in the British Medical Journal (no author cited) and referred to an earlier paper in the 1940s by Annell who had described the clumsy child as being:
Effects of the anti-fouling herbicide Irgarol 1051 on two life stages of the grass shrimp, Palaemonetes pugio

This study investigated lethal and sublethal effects (glutathione, lipid peroxidation, cholesterol, and acetylcholinesterase) of the anti-fouling herbicide Irgarol 1051 on larval and adult grass shrimp (Palaemonetes pugio). The 96-hour LC50 test for larvae resulted in an estimated LC50 of 1.52 mg/L (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.26–1.85 mg/L). The adult 96-h LC50 was 2.46 mg/L (95% CI = 2.07–2.93 mg/L). Glutathione, lipid peroxidation, cholesterol and acetylcholinesterase levels were not significantly affected in adult grass shrimp by exposure of up to 3.00 mg/L irgarol. Lipid peroxidation and acetylcholinesterase levels in the larvae were significantly higher than controls in the highest irgarol exposures of 1.0 and 2.0 mg/L, respectively. Cholesterol levels were significantly reduced in larvae in all four irgarol concentrations tested while glutathione levels were not significantly affected in larvae. Both lethal and sublethal effects associated with irgarol exposure were only observed at concentrations well above those reported in the environment.
Algorithms for Super-resolution of Images based on Sparse Representation and Manifolds. (Algorithmes de super-résolution d'ilmages basés sur représentations parcimonieuses et variétés)

Image super-resolution is defined as a class of techniques that enhance the spatial resolution of images. Super-resolution methods can be subdivided in single and multi image methods. This thesis focuses on developing algorithms based on mathematical theories for single image super-resolution problems. Indeed, in order to estimate an output image, we adopt a mixed approach: i.e., we use both a dictionary of patches with sparsity constraints (typical of learning-based methods) and regularization terms (typical of reconstruction-based methods). Although the existing methods already perform well, they do not take into account the geometry of the data to: regularize the solution, cluster data samples (samples are often clustered using algorithms with the Euclidean distance as a dissimilarity metric), learn dictionaries (they are often learned using PCA or K-SVD). Thus, state-of-the-art methods still suffer from shortcomings. In this work, we proposed three new methods to overcome these deficiencies. First, we developed SE-ASDS (a structure tensor based regularization term) in order to improve the sharpness of edges. SE-ASDS achieves much better results than many state-of-the-art algorithms. Then, we proposed AGNN and GOC algorithms for determining a local subset of training samples from which a good local model can be computed for reconstructing a given input test sample, where we take into account the underlying geometry of the data. AGNN and GOC methods outperform spectral clustering, soft clustering, and geodesic distance based subset selection in most settings. Next, we proposed aSOB strategy which takes into account the geometry of the data and the dictionary size. The aSOB strategy outperforms both PCA and PGA methods. Finally, we combine all our methods in a unique algorithm, named G2SR. Our proposed G2SR algorithm shows better visual and quantitative results when compared to the results of state-of-the-art methods.
High dose intravenous immunoglobulin does not affect complement-bacteria interactions.

Pooled IgG preparations for i.v. use (IVIg) have been shown to possess anticomplementary activity in autoimmune and systemic inflammatory diseases. Both in vitro and in vivo, IVIg is a preferential acceptor of activated C4 and C3, thus diverting complement activation from the target surface. We explored the effect of IVIg on complement-bacteria interactions in an attempt both to determine the safety of IVIg preparations in relation to natural immunity to bacteria and to extend our knowledge of the physiologic mechanism of action of IVIg. Using both complement-sensitive and complement-resistant bacterial strains, we investigated the effect of IVIg on C3 binding to bacterial surfaces. In all cases, whether complement could be directly activated by bacteria through the classical or the alternative pathway, IVIg had no effect on the amount of C3 bound to bacteria. In addition, IVIg did not inhibit complement-dependent bacterial lysis. Interestingly, increasing concentrations of IVIg induced an increase in C1q binding, suggesting the presence of low affinity complement-fixing antibacterial Abs in certain preparations. Using serum samples from patients treated with IVIg, complement binding to and lysis of complement-sensitive bacterial strains were not modified as compared with normal controls and pretreatment samples, although a decrease in C3 binding to sensitized human erythrocytes was observed. Our data suggest that IVIg does not affect direct complement-bacteria interactions, although it is a potent agent to use for diversion of complement activation on sensitized target surfaces.