Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Family Business Institutionalisation: Impact on binancial Performance in an emerging Economy

Despite institutionalisation having a potential impact on the financial performance of public family businesses in an emerging economy, attempts to measure it at the organisational level have been rare. In this context, drawing on old institutional theory, in this study, institutionalisation is addressed as a multidimensional construct that comprises formalisation, professionalisation, transparency, accountability, fairness and responsibility. Moreover, the impact of institutionalisation on financial performance is examined based on profitability ratios. Applying data obtained from 150 public family businesses in the 2011-2015 period, the results demonstrate that the institutionalisation level and board size have a positive significant effect on return on equity (ROE), while the firm size, board size and the percentage of independent members of the board have a positive significant effect on the return on assets (ROA).
Vegetation structure and biodiversity recovery in 19-year-old active restoration plantations in a Neotropical cloud forest

Aim of the study: To evaluate how middle-aged active restoration plantations of native tree species contribute to the recovery of the tropical cloud forest in terms of vegetation structure, tree richness, species composition, and to shade-tolerance and seed dispersal mode functional groups.Area of the study: We studied two 19-year-old active restoration sites and their reference mature forests in the tropical montane cloud forest belt, Veracruz, Mexico.Materials and methods: The basal area, density and height as well as the tree species composition and number of species and individuals classified by shade tolerance (pioneer and non-pioneer trees), and seed dispersal mode (anemochorous, barochorous-synzoochorous and endozoochorous) were compared between active restoration plantations and reference forests.Main results: Planted trees and the woody vegetation growing under them represented a high proportion of reference forests’ basal area. Tree richness and Shannon’s equitability index were similar in both reference forests and one active restoration plantation and slightly different in the other. Tree species composition differed among sites; however, each 19-year-old plantation already had several non-pioneer species and a similar species proportion of the seed dispersal syndromes present in their reference forests.Research highlights: Active restoration accelerated the recovery of cloud forest in degraded pasture and bracken fern lands. Planted trees promoted the rapid development of vegetation structure and natural tree regeneration. Although species composition is still different, these middle-aged restoration plantations already have forest species and a proportion of functional groups of species similar to those of their own reference montane cloud forests.Keywords: active restoration; forest recovery; passive restoration; seed dispersal mode; succession; tree species; tropical montane cloud forest.
Block Diversity and Governance

We show that different kinds of blockholders drive different forms of corporate governance. Nonfinancial blockholders are six times more likely to self-identify as active shareholders relative to financial blockholders. Textual analysis of regulatory filings reveal that nonfinancial blocks intend to govern through voice rather than exit. Firms with nonfinancial blockholders are more likely to have corporate governance practices that reflect active governance through shareholder voice rather than the threat of exit. We document a strong positive announcement return for nonfinancial blockholders, especially in small, volatile, and illiquid firms where the marginal benefit of monitoring via voice may be larger.
State–society relations in uncertain times: Social movement strategies, ideational contestation and the pandemic in Brazil and Argentina

This article compares how COVID-19 affected state–society relations differently in two relatively similar countries: Brazil and Argentina. Bringing together social movement theories and ideational institutionalism, we argue that variation in responses to the COVID-19 pandemic is explained by the different roles played by social movements inside and outside government and by contrasting ideational disputes. The extreme uncertainty introduced by the pandemic generated intense contestation about the meaning of the crisis and how to resolve it. In Brazil, progressive social movements not only were excluded from the government coalition, but also had to combat a powerful discourse that denied the existence of a crisis altogether. Such denialism did not flourish in the same way in Argentina, where progressive social movements were part of national government processes. The result was that in Argentina, movement–government dynamics revolved around constructing long-term policy proposals, whereas in Brazil movements focused on short-term emergency responses.
Pattern Recognition in Single Molecule Force Spectroscopy Data

Pattern Recognition in Single Molecule Force Spectroscopy Data Hilary Joyce Paulin Advisor: University of Guelph, 2013 Professor John Dutcher We have developed an analytical technique for single molecule force spectroscopy (SMFS) data that avoids filtering prior to analysis and performs pattern recognition to identify distinct SMFS events. The technique characterizes the signal similarity between all curves in a data set and generates a hierarchical clustering tree, from which clusters can be identified, aligned, and examined to identify key patterns. This procedure was applied to α-lactalbumin (α-LA) on polystyrene substrates with flat and nanoscale curvature, and bacteriorhodopsin (bR) adsorbed on mica substrates. Cluster patterns identified for the α-LA data sets were associated with different higherorder protein-protein interactions. Changes in the frequency of the patterns showed an increase in the monomeric signal from flat to curved substrates. Analysis of the bR data showed a high level of multiple protein SMFS events and allowed for the identification of a set of characteristic three-peak unfolding events.
Output, investment and productivity: the Italian North–South regional divide from a Kaldor–Verdoorn approach

ABSTRACT This paper elaborates on the Italian North–South divide by endorsing a Kaldor–Verdoorn perspective. To assess the endogenous relationship between labour productivity, capital accumulation and output growth, panel structural vector autoregressive (P-SVAR) modelling is applied to 1980–2017 data on Italian macro-regions and areas. Findings show that territorial disparities exist in both the Verdoorn and the capital accumulation effects throughout the country. Output growth has a larger effect on productivity in the Centre–North, while the investment effect is stronger in the South. That stresses the relevance of public effort in stimulating both output and investment – therefore, productivity – especially in economically depressed areas.
Exploration of Augmented Reality in Spatial Abilities Training: A Systematic Literature Review for the Last Decade

This review paper presents a systematic literature review on the use of Augmented Reality (AR) in engineering education, and specifically in student’s spatial ability training, for the last decade. Researchers have explored the benefits of AR, and its application has been of increasing interest in all levels of education. Engineering students tend to have difficulties in ac quiring visualization skills, and hence, AR is gaining momentum in enhancing students’ learning achievements. This paper aims to present valuable information to researchers, tutors and software developers of learning technology systems concerning the advantages and limitations of AR in spatial ability training, the incorporation of adaptivity and personalization in AR applications as well as the aspects of spatial ability having been evaluated using AR and the prevalent evaluation methods for AR applications. To this direction, a total of thirty-two (32) studies were reviewed, having been published since 2010. The findings reveal an increase in the number of studies dur ing the last three years. One major conclusion is the improvement of learners’ spatial ability using AR in educational settings, and the noted challenge is the need for more learning content. One research gap that has been identified is the lack of personalization in the developed applications, offering space for future research. Concluding, this area is under-researched, and thus, there is scope for a lot of improvement.
Modelling the influence of biotic plant stress on atmospheric aerosol 
particle processes throughout a growing season

Abstract. Most trees emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs) continuously throughout their life, but the rate of emission, and spectrum of emitted VOCs, become substantially altered when the trees experience stress. Still, models to predict the emissions of VOCs do not account for perturbations caused by biotic plant stress. Considering that such stresses have generally been forecast to increase in both frequency and severity in future climate, the neglect of plant stress-induced emissions in models might be one of the key obstacles for realistic climate change predictions, since changes in VOC concentrations are known to greatly influence atmospheric aerosol processes. Thus, we constructed a model to study the impact of biotic plant stresses on new particle formation and growth throughout a full growing season. We simulated the influence on aerosol processes caused by herbivory by European gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) and autumnal moth (Epirrita autumnata) feeding on pedunculate oak (Quercus robur) and mountain birch (Betula pubescens var. pumila), respectively, and also fungal infections of pedunculate oak and balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera var. suaveolens) by oak powdery mildew (Erysiphe alphitoides) and poplar rust (Melampsora larici-populina), respectively. Our modelling results indicate that all the investigated plant stresses are capable of substantially perturbing both the number and size of aerosol particles in atmospherically relevant conditions, with increases in the amount of newly formed particles by up to about one order of magnitude and additional daily growth of up to almost 50 nm. We also showed that it can be more important to account for biotic plant stresses in models than significant variations in e.g. leaf area index, and temperature and light conditions, which are currently the main parameters controlling predictions of VOC emissions. Our study, thus, demonstrates that biotic plant stress can be highly atmospherically relevant and it supports biotic plant stress emissions to be integrated into numerical models for prediction of atmospheric chemistry and physics, including climate change projection models.
Numerical study of geometric morphing wings of the 1303 UCAV

ABSTRACT Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles (UCAVs) are believed by many to be the future of aerial strike/reconnaissance capability. This belief led to the design of the UCAV 1303 by Boeing Phantom Works and the US Airforce Lab in the late 1990s. Because UCAV 1303 is expected to take on a wide range of mission roles that are risky for human pilots, it needs to be highly adaptable. Geometric morphing can provide such adaptability and allow the UCAV 1303 to optimise its physical feature mid-flight to increase the lift-to-drag ratio, manoeuvrability, cruise distance, flight control, etc. This capability is extremely beneficial since it will enable the UCAV to reconcile conflicting mission requirements (e.g. loiter and dash within the same mission). In this study, we conduct several modifications to the wing geometry of UCAV 1303 via Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to analyse its aerodynamic characteristics produced by a range of different wing geometric morphs. Here we look into two specific geometric morphing wings: linear twists on one of the wings and linear twists at both wings (wash-in and washout). A baseline CFD of the UCAV 1303 without any wing morphing is validated against published wind tunnel data, before proceeding to simulate morphing wing configurations. The results show that geometric morphing wing influences the UCAV-1303 aerodynamic characteristics significantly, improving the coefficient of lift and drag, pitching moment and rolling moment.
Towards a Model for Integrating Informal and Formal Learning for Children in Refugee Camps: The Example of the Lesbos School for Peace

The aim of this paper is to describe a unique, bottom-up model for building a school based on humanistic intercultural values in a post-disaster/refugee area. We think that this model will be of use in similar contexts. This single-case study can teach us about the needs of refugee children, as well as provide strategies to reach these needs with limited resources in additional similar contexts. Additionally, this paper will outline a qualitative arts-based methodology to understand and to evaluate refugee children’s lived experience of in-detention camp schools. Our field site is an afternoon school for refugee children operated and maintained by volunteers and refugee teachers. The methodology is a participatory case study using arts-based research, interviews, and observation of a school built for refugee camp children in Lesbos. Participants in this study included the whole school, from children to teachers, to volunteers and managers. The research design was used to inform the school itself, and to outline the key components found to be meaningful in making the school a positive experience. These components could be emulated by similar educational projects and used to evaluate them on an ongoing basis.
Application of Rubber Wood Ash for Removal Nickel and Copper from Aqueous Solution

The attempt of this study was to use rubber wood ash (RWA), an agricultural waste, as an adsorbent for the adsorption of Ni(II) and Cu(II) ions from aqueous solution. The average particle size of RWA was 35.4 μm. The BET surface area was 42 m2/g. SEM of RWA reveals it very fine particle size to the order of millimeter or less and that there are pores of varying sizes within the particle. The diffraction pattern confirms the CaO is the main content in RWA. Studies were carried out on the function of rotation speed, amount of dosage and contact times. RWA was found to be an effective adsorbent for the removal of 99.86% for nickel (Ni(II)) and 99.44% for copper (Cu(II)) metal ions from aqueous solutions. Optimum conditions for Ni(II) and Cu(II) ions removal were found to be adsorbent dosage of 10 g/l, 20 minutes equilibrium time and rotation speed of 400 rpm. The results suggest that RWA can be used as an adsorbent for an efficient removal of metal ions from aqueous solutions.
An investigation of chitosan and its derivatives on red blood cell agglutination

6-Deoxy-6-(2-aminoethyl) amino chitosan (CS-AEA) and aminoethyl modified CS-AEA (CS-AEA-AEM) were synthesized and characterized using FTIR, NMR and elemental analysis. The results showed that the expected CS derivatives were obtained, and the amine group content increased successively in CS, CS-AEA and CS-AEA-AEM. The red blood cell (RBC) agglutination behaviors in solutions of CS and its derivatives were studied using optical microscopy (OM) and ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectrophotometry. The results demonstrated that the agglutination of RBCs became more evident upon decreasing the pH value and increasing the concentration. Although CS-AEA-AEM had the highest content of amine groups, CS-AEA exhibited the best agglutination performance under the pH and concentration range studied. Potentiometric titration and ionization degree calculations showed that the agglutination behavior of RBCs was determined by the number of protonated amines in CS or its derivatives. Hemocompatibility tests showed that the hemolysis of CS derivatives increased after modification, and the CS derivatives could be classified as a slightly hemolytic material. We have sucessfully developed a CS derivative (CS-AEA) with very good RBC agglutination performance under neutral conditions.
Dissecting Climate Risks: Are they Reflected in Stock Prices?

We construct novel proxies of aggregate physical and transition climate risks by conducting textual analysis of Reuters climate-change news over 2000-2018. This analysis uncovers four textual risk factors related to the topics of U.S. climate policy, international summits, natural disasters, and global warming, respectively. The first two factors proxy transition risks, whereas the last two proxy physical risks. We find that only the climate policy factor is priced in the U.S. stock market, with the evidence being more pronounced over 2012-2018. The documented positive premium is consistent with the argument that investors hedge short-term transition risks. We validate this explanation using a narrative approach to mark the content of climate news. Our results imply that investors' attention is an important driver of asset returns.
Rate of Hypokalemia and Risk Factors in Patients on Peritoneal Dialysis Under PD First Policy

Background: Hypokalemia is common among peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. The incidence rate ofhypokalemia and risk factors were investigated.Material and Method: A retrospective cohort, enrolled 1,044 incident PD patients under the Universal HealthCoverage(UHC) Scheme of a regional hospital between January 2012 and December 2018. Hypokalemiawas defined as having serum potassium less than 3.5mEq/L. The rate of hypokalemia in episodes per oneyear at risk was determined. Risk factors of hypokalemia were reported as an incidence rate ratio usingPoisson regression.Results: The incidence rate of hypokalemia was 2.21(95% confidence interval, 2.14-2.27)episodes per oneyear at risk. Risk factors of hypokalemia were ; older than 60 years, female, diabetes, bodyweight less than45 kg, serum albumin less than 3.5 g/dL, serum phosphate less than 2.5 mg/dL, and total lymphocyte countless than 1,500 cells/mm3.Conclusions: Hypokalemia was frequently occurred in PD patients. Elderly PD patients, female, diabetes,malnutrition, low serum albumin, and lowserum phosphate had higher risks to develop hypokalemia.
Assessing the stability of fiscal attitudes: Evidence from a survey experiment

Funding information This publication draws on research supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. Abstract The literature on attitudes toward government budgets has been dominated by two distinct approaches, jointly studying both sides of the ledger (holistic approaches) and studying attitudes over spending and revenue separately (singular approaches). Despite both approaches being widely adopted, scholars have given limited attention to testing empirically how methodological differences in the approaches may affect measures of fiscal attitudes and the inferences we draw from those measures. In this paper, we ask, “Do the different approaches to studying the budget alter mass attitudes toward spending and taxes, and if so, how? ” Using data from an Amazon MTurk survey experiment, we find that spending choices differ significantly (attitude instability) across the two approaches. On the revenue side, our results show that choices over taxation tend to remain consistent and stable, regardless of whether the choices include only taxes or the combination of taxes and spending.
Changes in anterior segment parameters of normal subjects during accommodation using a Scheimpflug imaging system

Background: Accommodation changes ocular parameters, such as the anterior chamber volume (ACV), anterior chamber depth (ACD), anterior chamber angle (ACA), and pupil diameter (PD), which can reflect a risk of angle-closure glaucoma. Previous studies of changes in ocular anterior segment parameters, have used high diopters or maximum amplitude. Here, we focused on normal accommodation at a reading distance of 30‒40 cm. The aim of this study was to assess changes in anterior segment parameters during a normal accommodative state, using a Scheimpflug imaging system. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 40 emmetrope subjects (mean ± SD of age: 22 ± 4.0 years) who met the inclusion criteria and provided informed consent were enrolled. Clinical history, refraction, amplitude of accommodation, slit lamp examination, Goldman applanation tonometry, and Pentacam investigations were performed on all subjects. Accommodative and non-accommodative targets were induced via the Pentacam. Two seconds were allowed for accommodation or relaxation prior to measurements in each eye. Results: Eighty normal eyes were evaluated; a small but statistically significant change in ACV, ACA, and PD during accommodation (P < 0.01, < 0.01, and < 0.05, respectively) was observed. The ACD did not change substantially with accommodation (P = 0.29). The mean ± SD values of ACV, ACD, ACA, and PD before and after accommodation were 151.85 ± 24.04 mm3 and 145.38 ± 23.30 mm3, 2.87 ± 0.28 mm and 2.86 ± 0.27 mm, 35.06° ± 3.68° and 33.84° ± 3.72°, and 3.46 ± 0.57 mm and 3.41 ± 0.53 mm, respectively. Conclusions: Accommodation changes ocular parameters, such as ACV, ACA, and PD, in healthy young emmetropes. Interestingly, the ACD remains unaltered during accommodation. Nevertheless, although these changes were statistically significant, they were not clinically significant in our study.
Reducing Effect of Cannabidiol on Alcohol Self-Administration in Sardinian Alcohol-Preferring Rats.

Introduction: Cannabidiol (CBD) is a major cannabinoid extracted from Cannabis sativa with no abuse potential. Data from recent rodent studies suggest that amelioration of alcohol-motivated behaviors may be one of the numerous pharmacological effects of CBD. This study was designed to contribute to this research, assessing the effect of CBD on operant oral alcohol self-administration in selectively bred Sardinian alcohol-preferring (sP) rats, a validated animal model of excessive alcohol consumption. In addition, this study investigated the effect of CBD on operant self-administration of a highly palatable chocolate solution in Wistar rats. Materials and Methods: Male sP rats were trained to lever respond for alcohol (15% v/v) under the fixed ratio 4 (FR4) schedule of reinforcement. Once lever responding had stabilized, rats were exposed to test sessions under the FR4 and progressive ratio (PR) schedules of reinforcement. Test sessions were preceded by acute treatment with CBD (0, 6.25, 12.5, and 25 mg/kg or 0, 25, 50, and 100 mg/kg, i.p.; each dose range was tested in an independent experiment). Male Wistar rats were trained to lever respond for a chocolate solution (5% w/v chocolate powder) under the FR10 schedule of reinforcement. Once lever responding had stabilized, rats were exposed to test sessions under the same schedule. Test sessions were preceded by acute treatment with CBD (0, 6.25, 12.5, and 25 mg/kg or 0, 25, 50, and 100 mg/kg, i.p., in two independent experiments). Results: Under the FR schedule, treatment with doses of CBD ≥12.5 mg/kg markedly reduced lever responding for alcohol and amount of self-administered alcohol. Under the PR schedule, treatment with CBD produced a slight tendency toward a decrease in lever responding and breakpoint for alcohol. Finally, no dose of CBD affected lever responding for the chocolate solution and amount of self-administered chocolate solution. Discussion: These results extend previous data on CBD ability to affect alcohol-motivated behaviors to an animal model of genetically-determined proclivity to high alcohol consumption. Because of the predictive validity of sP rats, these results may be of relevance in view of possible future studies testing CBD in patients affected by alcohol use disorder.