Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Role of Corporate Governance and Ownership in Unconventional Bond Rating: Empirical Evidence from Companies Listed on Burs

Corporate governance is the system through which companies are directed and managed. The essential role of corporate governance has been an issue of late due to the global financial crisis in 2007. In addition, the Islamic finance industry has garnered attention in recent times because of its high growth. Among its instruments is unconventional bonds. This study investigates the impact of corporate governance on unconventional bond ratings. To this end, we collected data from corporations listed in the Bursa Malaysia that have issued unconventional bond from 2008 to 2011. The data was subjected to panel data analysis. The findings demonstrated that the corporate governance mechanisms of separate board leadership structure, independent non-executive directors, and smaller board size (at 10% significance) contribute to better and higher unconventional bond ratings. Meanwhile, in regards to ownership variables, a lower proportion of director ownership and higher proportion of institutional ownership (at 5% significance) lead to higher unconventional bond ratings. Whereas regarding control variables, the bigger the size of the issued unconventional bond (at 1% significance), the less years it takes to achieve maturity, with bigger firm size (at 10% significance), lower proportion of leverage, and less net income, all of which contribute to better unconventional bond ratings. Lastly, all of these variables were found to be in line with the theoretical framework except for net income variable, which could be due to the nature of unconventional bonds as a partnership and debt-based element contrary to the nature of bonds as a debt instrument. These findings are expected to contribute significantly in fields that concern regulators, issuers, investors, academicians as well as the public.
Optical Properties Comparison of Carbon Nanodots Synthesized from Kangkung (Ipomoea aquatica) with Deep Frying and Roasting Techniques

Carbon nanodots (Cdots) have many unique properties such as luminescence that can be utilized in various fields. The purposes of this study are to synthesize Cdots from kangkung (Ipomoea aquatica) through frying and roasting techniques and compare the optical properties of the Cdots using UV-Vis, PL, and FTIR. Three stages of synthesizing process of Cdots, i.e.: preparing the kangkung powder (root, stem, leaf) and synthesizing the Cdots through frying and roasting techniques. Each part (root, stem, and leaf) was heated in an oven at 250 oC for 2 hours and mashed into powder. The frying method was done by frying 15 g of the powder in 120 ml oil for 5 minutes at 88 oC, filtered, and dissolved in n-hexane. In addition, the roasting method was done by frying the powder without oil as much as 15 g for 5 minutes, dissolved in 120 ml of distilled water, and then filtered. The UV-Vis characterization showed one absorbance peak for Cdots via frying and roasting techniques at 293 nm to 296 nm and 262 nm to 282 nm, respectively. The Cdots through frying and roasting techniques produce red and green luminescence, respectively. The FTIR characterization showed the presence of C=C and C=O functional groups, which are the core and surface state of the Cdots by frying technique, while the samples via roasting technique showed only the core. It can be concluded that the Cdots samples obtained from frying and roasting methods have different optical properties. The frying method produces Cdots with longer wavelength at the absorbance peak in the UV-Vis test compared to the roasting method. Moreover, the frying and roasting methods produce different color luminescence.
Determinants of vitamin D deficiency among Bangladeshi children: A hospital based case-control study

Background: Risk factors of vitamin D deficiency among children have been identified in many developed countries but not yet in some developing countries like Bangladesh. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify the determinants of vitamin D deficiency among Bangladeshi children. Methods: This case-control study was conducted at 2 paediatric hospitals in Dhaka city from January to June 2017. We recruited 198 vitamin D deficient cases and 198 apparently healthy controls. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS, where quantitative variables were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The association between vitamin D deficiency with different lifestyle and dietary factors were analyzed by using Chi-square test. A 2-tailed p-value less than 0.05 were considered as statistically significant. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were performed to confirm the association. Results: The study revealed that not playing outdoor games (OR=3.09; 95% CI 1.46, 6.54), playing video/ TV/mobile games (OR=4.14; 95% CI 1.97-8.67), no sun exposure (OR=2.42; 95% CI 1.25-4.67), no milk consumption (OR=3.01; 95% CI 1.38-6.57), no sea fish consumption (OR=2.20; 95% CI 1.19-4.08) and not exclusively breastfeeding (OR=2.03; 95% CI 1.14-3.63) were significantly associated with vitamin D deficiency. Conclusion: We concluded that improper lifestyles and nutritional habits are the key determinants of Vitamin D deficiency among Bangladeshi children. Strategy for hypovitaminosis D prevention should be implemented immediately, which includes vitamin D supplementation of breastfed infants and ensuring adequate maternal vitamin D status during pregnancy. Also an awareness program should be initiated to promote a healthy lifestyle and to improve nutritional habits.
The Impact of Commercial Banks Non–performing Loans on Financial Development in Nigeria

The paper, therefore, reviews the impact of commercial banks non-performing loans on financial development in Nigeria from 1981 to 2012. We employ unit root, causality, and co-integration tests and subsequently develops the Error Correction Models (ECM) econometric techniques to measure the impact of non-performing loans on the level of financial development in Nigeria. Also utilized are uses time-series data covering 1981-2012. The results show that nonperforming loans, commercial bank interest rate, liquidity ratio and inflation exert long-run relationship and significant influence on financial development. The paper recommends that regulatory authorities need to put in place measures aimed at tackling excessive risk-taking at the source and efficient financial policy that will continue to reduce the level of non-performing loans. Jel Code: G20; G21, E50; C32
Finding Deep Local Optima Using Network Pruning

Artificial neural networks (ANNs) are very popular nowadays and offer reliable solutions to many classification problems. However, training deep neural networks (DNN) is time-consuming due to the large number of parameters. Recent research indicates that these DNNs might be overparameterized and different solutions have been proposed to reduce the complexity both in the number of parameters and in the training time of the neural networks. Furthermore, some researchers argue that after reducing the neural network complexity via connection pruning, the remaining weights are irrelevant and retraining the sub-network would obtain a comparable accuracy with the original one. This may hold true in most vision problems where we always enjoy a large number of training samples and research indicates that most local optima of the convolutional neural networks may be equivalent. However, in non-vision sparse datasets, especially with many irrelevant features where a standard neural network would overfit, this might not be the case and there might be many non-equivalent local optima. This paper presents empirical evidence for these statements and an empirical study of the learnability of neural networks (NNs) on some challenging non-linear real and simulated data with irrelevant variables. Our simulation experiments indicate that the cross-entropy loss function on XOR-like data has many local optima, and the number of local optima grows exponentially with the number of irrelevant variables. We also introduce a connection pruning method to improve the capability of NNs to find a deep local minimum even when there are irrelevant variables. Furthermore, the performance of the discovered sparse sub-network degrades considerably either by retraining from scratch or the corresponding original initialization, due to the existence of many bad optima around. Finally, we will show that the performance of neural networks for real-world experiments on sparse datasets can be recovered or even improved by discovering a good sub-network architecture via connection pruning.
Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation

Acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) is a severe complication of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The role of Th17 cells in its pathophysiology remains a matter of debate. In this study, we assessed whether enrichment of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) with in vitro Th17-polarized CD4 T cells would exacerbate xenogeneic GVHD (xGVHD) into NOD-scid IL-2Rg null (NSG) mice. Naive human CD4 T cells were stimulated under Th17-skewing conditions for 8 to 10 days and then coinjected in NSG mice with fresh PBMCs from the same donor. We observed that Th17-polarized cells engrafted and migrated toward xGVHD target organs. They also acquired a double-expressing IL-17AIFNg profile in vivo. Importantly, cotransfer of Th17polarized cells (1£ 10) with PBMCs (1£ 10) exacerbated xGVHD compared with transplantation of PBMCs alone (2£ 10). Furthermore, PBMC cotransfer with Th17-polarized cells was more potent for xGVHD induction than cotransfer with naive CD4 T cells stimulated in nonpolarizing conditions (Th0 cells, 1£ 10 + 1£ 10 PBMCs) or with Th1-polarized cells (1£ 10 + 1£ 10 PBMCs). In summary, our results suggest that human Th17-polarized cells can cooperate with PBMCs and be pathogenic in the NSG xGVHD model. © 2018 American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation.
Geochemistry water of the Camaquã das Lavras and Hilário streams, Lavras do Sul-RS: anthropogenic or natural?

Este artigo apresenta os primeiros dados geoquimicos de detalhe da agua dos arroios Camaqua das Lavras e Hilario, Lavras do Sul-RS. Neste estudo foram utilizadas analises geoquimicas e geoestatisticas para estabelecer as influencias antropogenicas ou naturais na regiao. Os resultados permitiram classificar as aguas como mole e intermediaria com pH acido e neutro. A condutividade eletrica variou de 37.2 a 62.9 μs cm -1 e a alcalinidade total entre 4 e 30 mg L -1 . Razoes e padroes de distribuicao indicam que o intemperismo de argilominerais e dominante nas amostras investigadas. Seguido pelo intemperismo do feldspato em ambiente sob condicoes de dureza temporaria. O enriquecimento de Cu, Rh e Cd e associado a depositos minerais da regiao, a diversidade litologica e as atividades humanas. Todos os valores medidos atendem aos padroes estabelecidos pelas Portarias-Brasil noˢ 2914/2011, 36-GM/1990 e 1469/2000.
An update of the geographical distribution of Pleurodema marmoratum (Duméril & Bibron, 1840) in the Chilean Altiplano

This study summarizes new and historical records of one of the least known anuran species from the Chilean Altiplano, Pleurodema marmoratum (Duméril & Bibron, 1840). The discovery of a new population in the Altiplano of the Región de Antofagasta extends the known distribution of this species in Chile approximately 100 km south.
Influence of submerged macrophytes on phosphorus in a eutrophic reservoir in a semiarid region

Phosphorus (P) is the main nutrient responsible for the harmful effects caused by the enrichment of aquatic systems, and submerged macrophytes play an important role in this process, since they can both remove and release this nutrient in environmental compartments. The present study aimed to evaluate the influence of submerged macrophytes on P in the water, sediment, and water-sediment interface in a eutrophic reservoir in a semiarid region and to evaluate the relationship between the concentration of this nutrient in macrophyte tissue and that available in the different compartments. Were performed ten collection campaigns, in three reservoir locations: at the entrance of the Paraíba River; in the intermediate area between the river entrance and the dam and at the dam. We observed a difference in the P concentration inside and outside macrophyte banks, and this difference was determined by the abundance and intensity of macrophyte growth and decomposition. In sites with extensive vegetation banks and where decomposition was more intense, macrophytes released P to the water-sediment interface and sediment compartments. By contrast, in sites with smaller vegetation banks and Ac c pte d A rtic le
Effect of castration and vitamin E supplementation on 1 carcass and meat quality of Santa Inês lambs 2 3 To appear in : 4

51 Background: The carcass quality and the sheep meat can be influenced by several factors 52 such as race, age, slaughter weight, type of diet and supplementation. Objective: To 53 evaluate the effect of castration and vitamin E supplementation on performance, carcass 54 characteristics and meat of lambs slaughtered at 45 kg. Methods: Thirty-two male lambs 55 (16 castrated and 16 not castrated) were fed diets with or without inclusion of vitamin E. 56 The animals had an average age of 180 ± 20 days and a mean weight of 25.1 ± 4.6 kg. 57 Performance was evaluated for 56 days, and the animals were slaughtered when reaching 58 weight of 45 kg. The experimental design was randomized blocks based on initial 59 weights, and variables were assessed by a 2x2 factorial design (castrated and uncastrated, 60 supplemented or not with vitamin E, with 5% probability. Results: Higher proportions 61 (p<0.05) of visceral fats were found in the castrated animals (kidney: 2.45%, inguinal: 62 0.57% and omental: 4.96%) than in the uncastrated animals (kidney: 1.25%, inguinal 63 0.27%. and omental 3.12%). The aged meat samples showed no color differences for any 64 of the treatments, but there were differences in shear force for steaks aged for 7 days, 65 where the castrated animals showed average of 2.64 kgf and uncastrated animals showed 66 average 3.29 kgf. The animals supplemented with vitamin E had lower shear forces in 67 non-aged samples. Conclusion: Castration increased deposition of visceral and fat 68 coverage but did not influence the cuts yields and total carcass yield. The animals 69 supplemented with vitamin E had lower shear forces in non-aged samples. 70
Dickkopf-related protein 1 selectively suppressed the Wnt signaling pathway and sensitized the response of BALL-1/VCR to anticancer agents. In addition, prednisolone exposure in combination with Wnt inhibition restored chemo-sensitivity in relapsed ALL blasts. Since the resistance of BALL-1/VCR cell

Although ~80% of newly diagnosed pediatric patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) become disease-free following appropriate treatment, relapses frequently occur, with dismal prognosis. Therefore, it is urgent to develop novel therapeutic modalities. Resistance to chemotherapy is a major obstacle for the treatment of relapsed ALL. It has been indicated that Wnt pathway is potentially associated with leukemia recurrence. In the current study, a vincristine (VCR)-resistant variant of the human ALL cell line BALL-1 (BALL-1/VCR) that also had relatively specific resistance to both doxorubicin and etoposide was generated. Over-activation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway was observed in BALL-1/VCR cells, whereas Dickkopf-related protein 1 selectively suppressed the Wnt signaling pathway and sensitized the response of BALL-1/VCR to anticancer agents. In addition, prednisolone exposure in combination with Wnt inhibition restored chemo-sensitivity in relapsed ALL blasts. Since the resistance of BALL-1/VCR cells is potentially attributed to the overexpression of MDR‐associated protein 1 (MRP1), the development of drug resistance in relapsed ALL may associated with the overexpression of MRP1 and P-glycoprotein. The results of this study demonstrated that, as a potential candidate to mimic relapsed ALL, BALL-1/VCR could be used in further research, while Wnt-inhibition may become a promising therapeutic approach for treating ALL.
BUILDING A PURCHASE AND PURCHASE DECISION: ANALYSIS OF BRAND AWARENESS AND BRAND LOYALTY

The retail business in Indonesia has now become an informal industry sector that is developing very quickly. Seeing this phenomenon, some retailers in Indonesia try to package the products they sell using their own packaging and brands or private labels. Over time, the development of private label product sales at the Alfamidi Store is still unsatisfactory and tends to stagnate. This study aims to determine the effect of brand awareness and brand loyalty on repurchase intentions and purchasing decisions. The design of this study was explanatory. The sampling technique in this study was on consumers who bought or consumed private label products at the Alfamidi Shop in Tangerang City and filled out the questionnaire using the accidental sampling method but still fulfilled the specified criteria. The sampling technique is Quota Sampling with the amount determined by the researcher. By using Quota sampling, we get a sample of 100 customers. Quantitative analysis method with SEM analysis tools and Smart PLS tools
DISENTANGLING THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN GOVERNMENT DEBT AND ECONOMIC GROWTH: A GRANGER CAUSALITY APPROACH FROM INDONESIA

This paper aims to examine the possible Granger-causality relationship between public debt and economic growth in Indonesia between 1998 and 2018. To accomplish this aim, a time series regression approach as well as diagnostic tests such as the Augment Dickey–Fuller test and Johansen cointegration test (which provides evidence of a long-term relationship between external debt and economic growth) were conducted. A VECM Granger causality approach was chosen to investigate the causal link between government and economic growth. The VECM estimation provides new evidence that, over the long term, domestic debt has significantly and positively affected economic growth; at the same time, external debt has significantly and negatively affected economic growth. Meanwhile, Granger-causality analysis shows that economic growth has a unidirectional causal relationship with external public debt, but does not have such a relationship with domestic public debt. For this study, a series of 20 data points per variable were analyzed, covering 1998 through 2018. This sample size is rather small, and as such its findings are not perfect. The use of a much larger data set would enhance any similar studies in the future. Nonetheless, this study illuminates the role of government debt in the economy by highlighting the importance of domestic markets as sources of public debt to promote economic growth in Indonesia, and recommends that the government do so.
Role of red cell distribution width in prognosis of patients of all age groups with sepsis- A narrative review

Introduction: Sepsis is life threatening emergency situation that is frequently encountered in every emergency department. Knowing the prognosis of such patient is crucial which is difficult in the busy emergency rooms. There are lots of prognostic tools in practice and red cell distribution width is newer tool that is under test to predict prognosis of patients with sepsis. In recent day different scientific papers are published over red cell distribution width (RDW) in association with sepsis. This article tried to review such articles and give the holistic view of RDW in association with sepsis. Method: Articles were searched in Pubmed, Google scholar, The Cochrane Library, Scopus and Hinari. 26 articles were found and thorough revision of articles was done. Result: Most of the articles point towards overwhelming efficacy of RDW in sepsis across all age group. It can also be used in septic patients with anemia and who received blood transfusions recently. Only few papers are published involving pediatric population and patients with anemia and recent blood transfusion history. Conclusion: RDW is efficacious tool than currently practiced tools to predict prognosis of patient with sepsis across all ages. There are only few studies in pediatric population and patients with anemia and history of recent blood transfusion, so caution is advised while applying RDW among pediatric population and in patients with anemia and recent blood transfusion.
Oxygen and temperature influence the distribution of deepwater Cape hake Merluccius paradoxus in the southern Benguela: a GAM analysis of a 10-year time-series

Generalised additive models (GAMs) were applied to survey data to assess the influence of dissolved oxygen, water temperature and year of sampling upon the presence/absence of small (≤15 cm TL), medium (16–34 cm TL) and large (≥35 cm TL) size classes of deepwater Cape hake Merluccius paradoxus captured off the west coast of South Africa. Data were obtained from surveys using the RV Dr Fridtjof Nansen conducted in 2003 and from 2005 to 2013 during summer (January–February). Among the variables investigated, oxygen was the most important for the small size class (juveniles), with both low and high constraints (two-sided, ‘just right’ option), whereas for the medium and large size classes the oxygen effects were one-sided (avoiding lows). This finding, in combination with other published information, suggests that the Orange Banks is a nursery ground for juvenile M. paradoxus and that the area covered by this nursery ground can vary with the optimal oxygen concentration. The temperature constraint was generally wider and weaker than that for oxygen, being two-sided for the small and medium hake and one-sided (avoiding highs) for the large hake. The medium hake displayed the greatest tolerance to the investigated variables, which resulted in the widest distribution for this size class. Temperature, oxygen and sampling year play an important role in determining the distribution of M. paradoxus, but details of the biology (life cycle) of the species, such as its pelagic–demersal transition and associated movements, are no less important.
Narrowband IoT Device Energy Consumption Characterization and Optimizations

Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) is a new and attractive low power wide area cellular technology for low-capability and low-cost IoT devices, that is starting to see real-world de-ployments. NB-IoT devices are expected to operate unat-tended, potentially in inaccessible and signal-challenged locations, for at least 10 years on a single battery charge, making the NB-IoT device energy consumption signiﬁcantly important. Despite the importance of their function, the communication protocols have largely been copied from older generations of cellular networks to preserve interoperability, without considering their speciﬁc characteristics and needs. In this paper, we perform a detailed energy consumption analysis for NB-IoT devices, that we use as a basis to develop an energy consumption model for realistic energy consumption assessment. Finally, we take the insights from our analysis and propose optimizations to signiﬁcantly reduce the energy consumption of NB-IoT devices in different traf-ﬁc conditions. These optimizations are also complementary to current 3GPP optimizations towards the 10-year battery goal, and assess their performance.