Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Willingness to Comply with Corporate Law: An Interdisciplinary Teaching Method in Higher Education

Using an innovation training project, an interdisciplinary cross-sectional teaching strategy was developed to enhance students’ willingness to comply with the law. Thirty-five business, finance and accounting teachers examined the effects of ethical education on 484 university students’ willingness to comply with corporate law. Ethical education was based on building students’ ethical decisions on three court judgments in the new Spanish Corporate Governance Code. The ethical training was carried out by developing and applying social justice counter arguments. This perspective allowed students to imagine what decisions other person could have taken if they had managed the company ethically. The results suggest that ethics education in higher education can improve the willingness to comply the law. This methodology can be applied to interdisciplinary departments teaching ethics in business, finance and accounting.
A digital bang-bang phase-locked loop with automatic loop gain control and loop latency reduction

This paper presents a digital bang-bang phase-locked loop that employs automatic loop gain control and loop latency reduction techniques to enhance the jitter performance. The chip is fabricated in a 40nm CMOS process. This bang-bang phase-locked loop achieves 290fsrms integrated jitter and reference spurs <;-72.89dBc. It consumes 3.8mW from a 1.1V supply while operating at 3.96GHz. This translates to an FOM of -245dB.
Is There an Association between Release of Protein S100B during Cardiopulmonary Bypass and Memory Disturbances?

Objective : The use of protein S100B as a marker of brain cell injury in conjunction with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) has recently been questioned. The present study investigates functional brain injury based on the relation between S100B and memory disturbances. Methods : Four hundred and fifteen low-risk coronary artery bypass patients exposed to CPB were examined. The protein S100B was sampled during and after surgery. Explicit and implicit memory function was assessed preoperatively and at discharge from hospital. Possible associations between the release of the protein S100B and memory function were studied. Results : Serum concentration of S100B peaked at termination of CPB (0.895 - 0.84 µ g/l) and decreased gradually; 7 h post CPB (0.436 - 0.59 µ g/l), day 1 (0.149 - 0.27 µ g/l) and day 2 (0.043 - 0.15 µ g/l). High levels of S100B (>1.5 µ g/l) 7 h post CPB were associated with a significant (-1 SD) decline of explicit memory function ( p = 0.006); this was not seen at termination of CPB ( p = 0.834). Predictors of memory decline were S100B 7 h post CPB, length of stay in hospital and concomitant neurological disorders. Postoperative S100B concentration was higher among patients with atrial fibrillation ( p = 0.022). Conclusion : Only high levels of protein S100B found 7 h post CPB were associated with decline of explicit memory function, not the release seen during CPB. Thus, when using protein S100B, only values several hours remote from surgery should be used as a brain cell injury marker.
Reliability of La-Doped Hf-Based Dielectrics nMOSFETs

In this paper, the reliability of hafnium oxide gate dielectrics incorporating lanthanum (La) is investigated. The HfON with La demonstrated higher breakdown voltage and lower gate leakage than the control HfON with a similar equivalent oxide thickness and physical thickness. The superior breakdown characteristics of HfON that incorporate La are explained using La-induced interface-dipole formation. The La-induced dipole field at the interface between the SiOx and high-k hinders carrier injection in the inversion sweep, which in turn decreases gate leakage. In the accumulation region, the dipole formed near the interface regime appears to enhance the local field, which may lead to a local breakdown. While the devices with La show better immunity to positive-bias-temperature instability (PBTI) under normal operating conditions, the threshold-voltage shift (DeltaV th) at high field PBTI is significant. The results of a transconductance shift (DeltaG m) and flicker-noise analysis show that traps are easily generated during high field stress because the La weakens atomic bonding in the interface layer. These La-induced generated traps act like a capture/emission center, resulting in Lorentzian-like noise.
The Effect of Ownership Structure, Financial and Environmental Performances on Environmental Disclosure

This study aims to examine the effect of ownership structure, financial performance, firm size, industrial sector, and environmental performance on corporate environmental disclosure. The sample is the companies participating in PROPER period 2010 – 2014 which are listed in Indonesian Stock Exchange. Participants of PROPER are companies that are vulnerable to the environmental damage. The sample must a company that publishes the financial statement in rupiah and the environmental disclosure. There are 53 PROPER companies listing in Indonesian Stock Exchange period 2010 – 2014. It is only 30 of 53 companies publish their financial statement in rupiah and publish environmental disclosure every year. The final observation is 150 firms – years. The result indicates that firms will publish environmental disclosure when managerial ownership lower, institutional ownership lower, and financial performance lower, total assets higher, firms with higher environmental compliance according to PROPER, firms in manufacturing and mining sectors of oil and gas (PEM), and the score of environmental performance higher. The results are consistent with all hypotheses.
Analysis of the financial position of enterprises in privatization in the agricultural sector in Serbia

Privatization as a phase of the transitional process also included agriculture. The most attractive enterprises in agriculture, primarily in the food industry, were privatized in the first wave, while the process of privatization of other less attractive companies was slowed down and implemented mainly by the auction model. The remaining companies waiting for the privatization process are not attractive and there are problems that are expressed through poor financial position and relatively low potential. An exception is made by PKB Corporation, which has a potential and relatively stable market, making this company an acceptable option for investors. The financial position of the companies that are ready for privatization at this moment and which is one of the factors of negative inﬂuence on the decision of the investor was analyzed using the Altman Z’-score model, the Kralicek Quick test and the balanced growth model. All tests have shown that the analyzed companies are in a bad financial position and that the future investor will have to invest significant funds in financial consolidation, balancing cash ﬂows and investment in order to ensure adequate development and efficient business.
The role of consumers in agrobiodiversity conservation: the case of traditional varieties of apples in Portugal

ABSTRACT The agronomical, cultural, and historical importance of local varieties and the need of structured preservation of genetic resources have been widely recognized at both political and scientific levels in the past decades. To be engaged in genetic resource preservation, farmers must find it rewarding. Besides public policies, the generation of benefits depends crucially on the revenues farmers can collect through product sales, which, in turn, depends on consumers’ preferences. If consumers are willing to pay a price premium that rewards farmers for the lower productivity and greater variability usually associated with traditional varieties, market can make a significant contribution to agrobiodiversity preservation. However, knowledge about consumer’s willingness to pay (WTP) for traditional varieties is scarce and the main research on this topic focuses on particular varieties making it difficult to generalize the results. This study, rather than determining consumers’ WTP for a specific variety, seeks to estimate the WTP for the attribute “traditional variety” itself, using a hedonic price model. In-store Becker-DeGroot-Marschak auctions were applied for data collection. Results show that consumers, depending on their socio-economic characteristics, are willing to pay for the feature “traditional variety”.
Barbell strategy with bond portfolios: theory review and empirical study with government bond portfolios of Vietnam Prosperity Joint Stock Commercial Bank in 2018

The Barbell strategy is founded on the methodology initiated by the economic professor Harry Markowitz in a «portfolio theory» [2]. This strategy is mostly conducted by big scale institutions to cope with volatilities of market interest rates, diversify portfolios and increase the probability of higher return. The Barbell strategy is one of the fixed income securities investment strategies, focusing on short-term and long-term bonds and ignoring medium-term bonds, with the aim of balancing between liquidity and profit. In the context of a stable economy, the Barbell strategy is considered an advisable tool for big investors such as commercial banks, which helps them to construct their bond portfolios in not only preserving liquidity but also in ensuring sustainable profit. Besides reviewing the contents of the Barbell strategy and the forecasted yield curve of Vietnamese government bonds in 2018, the authors also test this strategy with Vietnam Prosperity Joint Stock Commercial Bank’s Portfolio in Vietnam Government Bonds in 2018. The suggested portfolio is classified into four types of bonds: one-year bonds (EUR 269.117 million); three-year bonds (EUR 459.082 million); ten-year bonds (EUR 708.412 million); and fifteen-year bonds (EUR 19.789 million). This application demonstrates the feasibility and reliability of the Barbell strategy.
Microalbuminuria in Patients With Cystic Fibrosis

OBJECTIVE We previously found that microalbuminuria (MA) is present in 14% of patients with long-standing cystic fibrosis–related diabetes (CFRD). However, others have reported much higher rates of MA in CF patients with and without diabetes (32–67%), suggesting this test is not sufficiently specific for diabetic nephropathy screening in CF. We investigated transient (TMA) and persistent (PMA) microalbuminuria in CF patients to resolve these contradictory findings. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We reviewed 1,449 outpatient urinary albumin measurements from 467 patients aged ≥10 years, which were collected over a decade. TMA was defined as a single episode of MA that subsequently was resolved. PMA was defined as two consecutive or two out of three consecutive measurements in the MA range. RESULTS The prevalence of TMA that subsequently was resolved in CF patients was similar to the general population. It was found in 7.6% of patients, including 5% of youth (aged 10–17 years) and 9% of adults. PMA was found in 6.1% of the overall CF population, including 2% of youth and 8% of adults. The odds of PMA were increased sevenfold in patients with CFRD (95% CI 2.5–20, P = 0.0002) and 48-fold in patients with both CFRD and organ transplant (95% CI 13–177, P < 0.0001). The five patients with PMA in the absence of CFRD or transplant included two youths with presumed benign orthostatic MA and three adults with hypertension. CONCLUSIONS The spot urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio is specific enough to be a valid screening test for diabetic kidney disease in CFRD.
A-blocks: recognizing and assessing child building processes during play with toy blocks

We propose A-Blocks, a novel building block device that enables detecttion and recognition of children's actions and interactions when building with blocks. Quantitative data received from constructing and breaking A-Blocks can be valuable for various assessment applications (e.g., play therapy, cognitive testing, and education). In our prototype system, each block embeds a wireless measurement device that inclludes acceleration, angular velocity, and geomagnetic sensors to measure a block's spatial motion and posture during children's play. A standard set of blocks can be managed via Bluetooth in real time. By using combined sensor data, the system can estimate how to stack the blocks on each other by detecting surface collisions (Figure 1) and recognize many fundamental play action patterns (e.g., moving, stacking standing, waving) with SVM. Unlike existing block-shaped devices with phyysical constraints on their connections (e.g., electrical hooks, magnets), our solid and traditional-shaped block device supports flexible block play that could include more delicate motions reflecting a child's inner state (e.g., learning stages, stress level, representation of an imagination). These benefits of analyzing children's block play can be extended to allow for more enjoyable and interactive play, while social impacts include more constructive play.
Edema clearance in isolated sheep lungs.

Edema may be cleared from the lung by lymphatic drainage, transudation across the visceral pleural, vascular reabsorption, and movement into the mediastinum. To determine the quantity and mechanisms of edema clearance associated with spontaneous edema formation in isolated sheep lungs, we perfused six lungs for 180 min with blood (100 ml.kg-1.min-1) at subatmospheric left atrial pressure (Pla) from a weighed reservoir. In six other lungs, Pla was increased to 20 mmHg at 30-75 min to further augment edema. Fluid drainage from the lung was fractionated into blood and water components by serial measurements of drainage and perfusate hematocrit. Changes in weight of circulating intravascular blood and extravascular lung water (EVLW) were also directly measured by dye dilution and standard gravimetric techniques, respectively. From these measurements, we calculated that 3.04 +/- 0.53 g/g blood-free dry lung of water filtered into the extravascular space during perfusion. Of this amount, 42% was reabsorbed into the pulmonary vasculature; 18% drained from the lung via lymphatics, visceral pleura, and mediastinum; and 40% was retained in the lung. Compared with low Pla lungs, transient elevation of Pla increased lung hemorrhage and the final change in reservoir weight, but the quantity and clearance of cumulative filtered water and the final values of EVLW and wet-to-dry weight ratio (WW/DW) were not altered. These results suggest that 1) significant edema clearance occurred in isolated sheep lungs, primarily by vascular reabsorption, and 2) measurements of EVLW and WW/DW under-estimated injury in the presence of lung hemorrhage and significant edema clearance.
Do Long–Short and Market Neutral Mutual Funds Sail on an Even Keel?

Long–short and market neutral funds seek superior risk-adjusted returns while limiting their exposure to stock market risk. Over the 1999 to 2013 period, the number of funds with these investment objectives increased by more than 700%. Despite their growing popularity, the authors find that long–short and market neutral funds deliver lower risk-adjusted returns than U.S. Treasuries. Their investigation also reveals that the returns of both types of funds are positively and significantly correlated with the stock market. However, both fund types perform better in down markets. Finally, the authors report that market neutral funds outperform long–short funds.
Predicting menopausal age with anti-Müllerian hormone: a cross-validation study of two existing models

Abstract Objective This study aimed to cross-validate two comparable Weibull models of prediction of age at natural menopause from two cohorts, the Scheffer, van Rooij, de Vet (SRV) cohort and the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study (TLGS) cohort. It summarizes advantages and disadvantages of the models and underlines the need for achieving correct time dependency in dynamic variables like anti-Müllerian hormone. Methods Models were fitted in the original datasets and then applied to the cross-validation datasets. The discriminatory capacity of each model was assessed by calculating C-statistics for the models in their own data and in the cross-validation data. Calibration of the models on the cross-validation data was assessed by measuring the slope, intercept and Weibull shape parameter. Results The C-statistic for the SRV model on the SRV data was 0.7 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.7–0.8) and on the TLGS data it was 0.8 (95% CI 0.8–0.9). For the TLGS model on the TLGS data, it was 0.9 (95% CI 0.8–0.9) and on the SRV data it was 0.7 (95% CI 0.6–0.8). After calibration of the SRV model on the TLGS data, the slope was 1, the intercept -0.3 and the shape parameter 1.1. The TLGS model on the SRV data had a slope of 0.3, an intercept of 12.7 and a shape parameter of 0.6. Conclusions Both models discriminate well between women that enter menopause early or late during follow-up. While the SRV model showed good agreement between the predicted risk of entering menopause and the observed proportion of women who entered menopause during follow-up (calibration) in the cross-validation dataset, the TLGS model showed poor calibration.
A controlled trial of two nucleoside analogues plus indinavir in persons with human immunodeficiency virus infection and CD4 cell counts of 200 per cubic millimeter or less. AIDS Clinical Trials Group 320 Study Team.

BACKGROUND The efficacy and safety of adding a protease inhibitor to two nucleoside analogues to treat human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection are not clear. We compared treatment with the protease inhibitor indinavir in addition to zidovudine and lamivudine with treatment with the two nucleosides alone in HIV-infected adults previously treated with zidovudine. METHODS A total of 1156 patients not previously treated with lamivudine or protease inhibitors were stratified according to CD4 cell count (50 or fewer vs. 51 to 200 cells per cubic millimeter) and randomly assigned to one of two daily regimens: 600 mg of zidovudine (or stavudine) and 300 mg of lamivudine, or that regimen with 2400 mg of indinavir. The primary end point was the time to the development of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) or death. RESULTS The proportion of patients whose disease progressed to AIDS or death was lower with indinavir, zidovudine, and lamivudine (6 percent) than with zidovudine and lamivudine alone (11 percent; estimated hazard ratio, 0.50; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.33 to 0.76; P=0.001). Mortality in the two groups was 1.4 percent and 3.1 percent, respectively (estimated hazard ratio, 0.43; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.19 to 0.99; P=0.04). The effects of treatment were similar in both CD4 cell strata. The responses of CD4 cells and plasma HIV-1 RNA paralleled the clinical results. CONCLUSIONS Treatment with indinavir, zidovudine, and lamivudine as compared with zidovudine and lamivudine alone significantly slows the progression of HIV-1 disease in patients with 200 CD4 cells or fewer per cubic millimeter and prior exposure to zidovudine.
Nitric Oxide Mediates the Indole Acetic Acid Induction Activation of a Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Cascade Involved in Adventitious Root Development1

Recently, it was demonstrated that nitric oxide (NO) and cGMP are involved in the auxin response during the adventitious rooting process in cucumber (Cucumis sativus; Pagnussat et al., 2002, 2003). However, not much is known about the complex molecular network operating during the cell proliferation and morphogenesis triggered by auxins and NO in that process. Anatomical studies showed that formation of adventitious root primordia was clearly detected in indole acetic acid (IAA)- and NO-treated cucumber explants, while neither cell proliferation nor differentiation into root primordia could be observed in control explants 3 d after primary root was removed. In order to go further with signal transduction mechanisms that operate during IAA- and NO-induced adventitious root formation, experiments were designed to test the involvement of a mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade in that process. Cucumber explants were treated with the NO-donor sodium nitroprusside (SNP) or with SNP plus the specific NO-scavenger cPTIO. Protein extracts from those explants were assayed for protein kinase (PK) activity by using myelin basic protein (MBP) as substrate in both in vitro and in-gel assays. The activation of a PK of approximately 48 kD could be detected 1 d after NO treatment with a maximal activation after 3 d of treatment. In control explants, a PK activity was detected only after 4 d of treatment. The MBP-kinase activity was also detected in extracts from IAA-treated explants, while no signal was observed in IAA + cPTIO treatments. The PK activity could be inhibited by the cell-permeable MAPK kinase inhibitor PD098059, suggesting that the NO-dependent MBP-kinase activity is a MAPK. Furthermore, when PD098059 was administered to explants treated with SNP or IAA, it produced a delay in root emergence and a dose-dependent reduction in root number. Altogether, our results suggest that a MAPK signaling cascade is activated during the adventitious rooting process induced by IAA in a NO-mediated but cGMP-independent pathway. The activation of MAPKs is discussed in relation to the cell responses modulating mitotic process.
The slow component of V̇o2 in professional cyclists

Objectives—To analyse the slow component of oxygen uptake (V̇o2) in professional cyclists and to determine whether this phenomenon is due to altered neuromuscular activity, as assessed by surface electromyography (EMG). Methods—The following variables were measured during 20 minute cycle ergometer tests performed at about 80% of V̇o2max in nine professional road cyclists (mean (SD) age 26 (2) years; V̇o2max 72.6 (2.2) ml/kg/min): heart rate (HR), gas exchange variables (V̇o2, ventilation (V̇e), tidal volume (VT), breathing frequency (fb), ventilatory equivalents for oxygen and carbon dioxide (V̇e/V̇o2 and V̇e/V̇co2 respectively), respiratory exchange ratio (RER), and end tidal Po2 and Pco2 (Peto2 and Petco2 respectively)), blood variables (lactate, pH, and [HCO3−]) and EMG data (root mean from square voltage (rms-EMG) and mean power frequency (MPF)) from the vastus lateralis muscle. Results—The mean magnitude of the slow component (from the end of the third minute to the end of exercise) was 130 (0.04) ml in 17 minutes or 7.6 ml/min. Significant increases from three minute to end of exercise values were found for the following variables: V̇o2 (p<0.01), HR (p<0.01), V̇e (p<0.05), fb (p<0.01), V̇e/V̇o2 (p<0.05), V̇e/V̇co2 (p<0.01), Peto2 (p<0.05), and blood lactate (p<0.05). In contrast, rms-EMG and MPF showed no change (p>0.05) throughout the exercise tests. Conclusions—A significant but small V̇o2 slow component was shown in professional cyclists during constant load heavy exercise. The results suggest that the primary origin of the slow component is not neuromuscular factors in these subjects, at least for exercise intensities up to 80% of V̇o2max.
Spatial regression techniques for inter‐population data: studying the relationships between morphological and environmental variation

Understanding the importance of environmental dimensions behind the morphological variation among populations has long been a central goal of evolutionary biology. The main objective of this study was to review the spatial regression techniques employed to test the association between morphological and environmental variables. In addition, we show empirically how spatial regression techniques can be used to test the association of cranial form variation among worldwide human populations with a set of ecological variables, taking into account the spatial autocorrelation in data. We suggest that spatial autocorrelation must be studied to explore the spatial structure underlying morphological variation and incorporated in regression models to provide more accurate statistical estimates of the relationships between morphological and ecological variables. Finally, we discuss the statistical properties of these techniques and the underlying reasons for using the spatial approach in population studies.