Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The performance and rationale of European ethical funds : an ethical perspective

This dissertation examines whether ethical investment funds are good investments in comparison with other stock market investments for individual investors. Firstly, the financial performance of ethical funds was analysed using traditional risk adjusted performance measures. Performance was first compared with market benchmarks and then in comparison with other funds using a 'matched pair' approach (Luther, Matatko and Corner 1992; Mallin, Saadouni and Briston, 1995; Gregory, Matatko and Luther, 1997). This analysis indicated that the financial performance of ethical funds was not significantly different from market benchmarks and other funds. It was therefore concluded that ethical funds were good investments financially. A second empirical study used field research to examine the policies and processes of ethical funds. Two complementary strategies for dealing with ethical issues were identified; screening and engagement. Screening involves the use of exclusionary and/or positive ethical criteria in the stock selection process. This study indicated that ethical funds had a number of processes in place to address ethical issues. These processes included ethical screening; ethical advisory committees; specialist ethical researchers and use of other organisations. In terms of the policies and processes employed by ethical funds they were "good" investments compared to other funds. This confirms previous findings that ethical funds, although not a "panacea" were an improvement over other funds and that some ethical funds engaged with firms on ethical issues (Cowton, 1999; Mills, 2000; Friedman and Miles, 2001). Finally, ethical history and Church perspectives are employed in a tentative analysis of whether ethical funds are good investments ethically (Mackenzie, 1997). This preliminary analysis made it clear that some ethical funds would not be good investments in a moral sense for certain investors.
Management of Marjolin's ulcer in a chronic pressure sore secondary to paraplegia: a radical surgical solution

Marjolin's ulcer refers to malignant degeneration in a chronic wound. Although originally described in an area of burns scar, many other chronic wounds such as osteomyelitis sinus tracts, venous stasis ulcers and chronic pressure sores have the potential to undergo malignant transformation. We present an interesting case of malignant degeneration in a male paraplegic patient with chronic sacral and ischial pressure sores. By discussing our radical surgical solution to this problem, we aim to highlight the importance of prompt diagnosis.
Finance and the small firm

This edited collection examines key issues in the financing of small businesses. The premise is that there are imperfections in the market for the provision of finance for small firms. Excessive dependence upon short-term facilities such as loans and overdrafts has inhibited more long-standing relationships between small firms and providers of finance. The contributors call for changes which would solve this current imbalance. They suggest that small firms need to become more professional in their financial management, with owners more prepared to share equity. Financial institutions need to rely less on collateral and concentrate more on making informed judgements about the qualities of each business. In this volume, small firms are are broken down into specific types: the micro firm; the "high-tech" small firm; and the small firm owned by an individual from an ethnic minority.
Investment Under Uncertainty and Dynamic Adjustment in the Finnish Pork Industry

A stochastic dual model of investment under uncertainty is used to investigate structural adjustment in the Finnish hog industry. Value function restrictions are found to be comparable to those in existing dual models assuming deterministic state variables. The model also allows for an asymmetry in investment response during capital expansion and contraction phases. Empirical results show that investments respond negatively to increased uncertainty and that labor adjusts more slowly during contraction phases than during expansions. Results on economies of size, uncertainty effects, and adjustment rigidities have important implications for hog industry response to Finland's entry into the EU. Copyright 2000, Oxford University Press.
Correlations among steroid fear, acceptability, usage frequency, quality of life and disease severity in childhood eczema

Abstract Topical corticosteroids (CSs) are the mainstay of treatment for eczema but CS phobia and fears are prevalent and influence therapeutic efficacy. Aim: To quantify if CS acceptability and fear affect patients’ quality-of-life (QoL). Methods: Patients with eczema managed in the pediatric dermatology outpatient clinic of a university hospital were surveyed. Nottingham Eczema Severity Score (NESS) for severity, Children’s Dermatology Life Quality Index (CDLQI) for QoL, CS fear, acceptability and reported frequency of CS use were measured with quantified questions. Results: CS fears were prevalent among parents and caregivers of patients with eczema. Fifty-eight percent of parents reported general acceptability of CS as being very good or good, and many applied CS to their child regularly every week. However, >40% of parents reported CS fear “always” or “often”, 41% reported that they “always” or “often” apply CS only when eczema got worse, 57% would discuss CS fear with their doctors, 30% would request CS-sparing medications and 14% “always” or “often” use traditional Chinese herbal medicine. Fears were predominantly interpersonal and less often iatrogenic in nature. Skin problems were the most concerned side effects of CS. CS acceptability, frequency of CS usage, CS fear and usage of alternative medications were independent domains in eczema management: CS fears correlated with CDLQI; CS usage frequency correlated with NESS and negatively with parental education; and CS acceptability correlated with parental education. Ordinal logistic regressions showed worse QoL was associated with more CS fear (odds ratio: 1.092 [95% CI: 1.023–1.165], p = 0.008). Conclusions: The extent of CS fears is independent of CS acceptability, but correlates with patients’ QoL. Desensitization of parental CS fears should be integral part of eczema education and therapeutics in order to improve therapeutic efficacy and patients’ QoL.
A control algorithm for single-phase active power filter under non-stiff voltage source

The authors propose a control algorithm for a single-phase active-power filter working under a non-stiff voltage source. The method provides compensation for harmonics and reactive power and has an excellent dynamic performance. A detailed synchronization circuit is presented for proper sequencing of operation of the active power filter even when the source voltage contains multiple zero crossings. Experimental study has been carried out under a non-stiff voltage source to verify the proposed control scheme
Modeling and Passivity-Based Control of the Pierburg mechatronic actuator

In this paper, we present an overall study focused on the modeling, identification and control of the Pierburg mechatronic actuator. This actuator is used in the BMW M57 diesel engine to control all the air which are charged and entered in the vehicle engine. The obtained model from the identification procedure is sufficiently closer to the practical actuator behavior and captures most of its characteristics. This mechatronic actuator is subject of parameter variation during its life span. A nonlinear control based on the Interconnection and Damping Assignment Passivity-Base Control (IDA-PBC) is designed in order to ensure the desired performances. Simulation results show the efficiency of both the obtained model and the control strategy.
If-Then Plans Counteract Learned Non-Use 1 Making If-Then Plans Counteracts Learned Non-Use in Stroke Patients : A Proof-of-Principle Study

Background: After stroke, the learned non-use of a paretic arm is a major obstacle to the improvement of hand function. Objective: We examined whether patients with a central paresis could profit from applying the self-regulation strategy of making if-then plans that specify situational triggers to using the paretic arm. Method: Seventeen stroke patients with a mild to moderate hand paresis were asked to perform a Simon task which is commonly used to study the enhanced executive control needed when there is a mismatch between stimulus (e.g., color) and response (e.g., location) features. We examined whether patients with hemiparesis would be able to reduce the Simon effect (i.e., responding slower to mismatch as compared to matched stimulus and response features) by creating new stimulus-response associations via if-then plans. Results: A significant Simon effect was observed in both the affected and the non-affected arm for control trials. However, there was no longer a significant Simon effect for the critical trials prepared by forming if-then plans. This led to a significant stimulus x compatibility interaction effect for the affected arm and a marginally significant interaction effect for the non-affected arm. Making if-then plans was effective for eliminating or at least reducing the Simon effect for the affected and the non-affected arm, respectively. Conclusion: This observation opens a potential new route to improving stroke rehabilitation. If-then plans may qualify as a viable strategy to overcome the learned non-use of the affected arm. Further research is now required to develop and test therapeutic measures based on this proof-of-principle. Key-words: implementation intentions, rehabilitation, hemiparesis, stroke, learned nonuse If-Then Plans Counteract Learned Non-Use 2
Explicit Multistep Mixed Finite Element Method for RLW Equation

An explicit multistep mixed finite element method is proposed and discussed for regularized long wave (RLW) equation. The spatial direction is approximated by the mixed Galerkin method using mixed linear space finite elements, and the time direction is discretized by the explicit multistep method. The optimal error estimates in and norms for the scalar unknown and its flux based on time explicit multistep method are derived. Some numerical results are given to verify our theoretical analysis and illustrate the efficiency of our method.
Learning System User Interface Preferences: An Exploratory Survey

User experience is a key aspect when designing a software product. This applies especially when the use of the service requires a cognitive load from the user, such as in online learning systems. In this paper, we present initial results that can serve as source material for creating preference profiles for users, based on their personal information and teamwork preferences to enhance usability aspects of software systems. Based on our studies on student behavior during a learning experience, we present the plan for a solution which combines these two approaches. Author
Effectiveness of olfactory rehabilitation with the nasal airflow-inducing maneuver after total laryngectomy: one-year follow-up study.

OBJECTIVE To assess the long-term results of the nasal airflow-inducing maneuver in olfaction rehabilitation in patients who had undergone laryngectomy. DESIGN Prospective interventional study. SETTING University hospital. PATIENTS Twenty-four patients who had undergone laryngectomy (21 men and 3 women; mean age, 68 years) who received olfactory rehabilitation with the nasal airflow-inducing maneuver were reevaluated 6 and 12 months after primary treatment. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Olfactory function was tested by means of a semistructured interview; the Questionnaire on Olfaction, Taste and Appetite; and the Scandinavian Odor-Identification Test. Quality of life was measured with the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer QLQ-C30 and QLQ-H&N35 questionnaires. Patients were categorized as smellers or nonsmellers based on results of the Scandinavian Odor-Identification Test. RESULTS Before treatment, 10 of 24 patients (42%) were smellers and 14 (58%) were nonsmellers. At 6-month follow-up, 20 of 23 patients (87%) were smellers, whereas after 12 months, 21 of 24 patients (88%) were smellers. Long-term olfaction rehabilitation was achieved in 11 of 14 patients (79%) with anosmia, and 15 of all 24 patients (63%) could be classified as having normal olfactory capacity at the end of the study. CONCLUSION The nasal airflow-inducing maneuver is a patient-friendly, inexpensive, and effective method for restoring the sense of smell in patients after laryngectomy, and the results persist in the long term.
Splenic nerve is required for cholinergic antiinflammatory pathway control of TNF in endotoxemia

The autonomic nervous system maintains homeostasis through its sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions. During infection, cells of the immune system release cytokines and other mediators that cause fever, hypotension, and tissue injury. Although the effect of cytokines on the nervous system has been known for decades, only recently has it become evident that the autonomic nervous system, in turn, regulates cytokine production through neural pathways. We have previously shown that efferent vagus nerve signals regulate cytokine production through the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunit α7, a mechanism termed “the cholinergic antiinflammatory pathway. ” Here, we show that vagus nerve stimulation during endotoxemia specifically attenuates TNF production by spleen macrophages in the red pulp and the marginal zone. Administration of nicotine, a pharmacological agonist of α7, attenuated TNF immunoreactivity in these specific macrophage subpopulations. Synaptophysin-positive nerve endings were observed in close apposition to red pulp macrophages, but they do not express choline acetyltransferase or vesicular acetylcholine transporter. Surgical ablation of the splenic nerve and catecholamine depletion by reserpine indicate that these nerves are catecholaminergic and are required for functional inhibition of TNF production by vagus nerve stimulation. Thus, the cholinergic antiinflammatory pathway regulates TNF production in discrete macrophage populations via two serially connected neurons: one preganglionic, originating in the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus nerve, and the second postganglionic, originating in the celiac-superior mesenteric plexus, and projecting in the splenic nerve.
Selection and Agglomeration Impact on Firm's Productivity: A Study of Taiwan's Manufacturing Sector

This paper studies the impact of agglomeration and selection on firms' total factor productivity (TFP) distributions depending on their spatial location, specifically in science parks and large cities in Taiwan. The TFP distributions indicate a mean-shift and greater dispersion whenever firms benefit from agglomeration economies. However, selection due to competition may cause left truncation of the distribution. The empirical analysis shows that firms located in science parks have productivity that lags compared to those located in large cities and they benefit mainly from localization externalities.
Aggregate idiosyncratic volatility in G7 countries

The paper analyzes average idiosyncratic volatility in G7 countries. We find that idiosyncratic volatility is highly correlated across countries and there is a significant Granger causality from the U.S. to the other countries and vice versa. Consistent with U.S. data, when combined with stock market volatility, idiosyncratic volatility has significant predictive power for stock market returns and the value premium in many other G7 countries. Moreover, in U.S. data, idiosyncratic volatility has explanatory power for stock returns very similar to that of value premium volatility in both time-series and cross-sectional regressions. Our results suggest that idiosyncratic volatility proxies for systematic risk omitted from CAPM.
Big data federated repository model

This paper introduced the concept of the term Big Data and analyzes the cause of their appearance. Big Data is a set of methods and tools for processing different types of structured and unstructured data dynamic large amounts for their analysis and use of decision support. There is an alternative to traditional database management systems and solutions class Business Intelligence. To this class belong the parallel data processing means (NoSQL, algorithms MapReduce, Hadoop). Defining characteristic for Big data is the amount (volume, in terms of volume size), speed (velocity in terms of both growth rate and the need for high-speed processing and the results), diversity (variety, in terms of the possibility of simultaneous processing of different types of structured and semi-structured data).
Sharing experiences and social support requests in an Internet forum for patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

Internet forums represent a useful but understudied resource to understand psychosocial aspects of living with systemic lupus erythematosus. This study was aimed to describe the demand/supply of social support through the Internet in relation with the description of personal illness experiences. All the posts (118) from an Italian forum for systemic lupus erythematosus patients were collected and analyzed combining qualitative content analysis with statistical textual analysis. The results showed different purposes for posts: starting new relationships, seeking information, receiving emotional support, and giving a contribution. Lexical analysis identified three ways of describing patients’ experiences. Discussion focuses on the relationship between the requested/offered support and systemic lupus erythematosus experiences.
Household portfolios in Germany

This paper describes portfolio choices of German households in the 1980s and 1990s, presenting stylized facts and analyzing recent trends in asset ownership rates and asset shares on the basis of financial accounts and survey data. We correlate socio-demographic household characteristics with asset shares and ownership and examine how German households have adjusted their asset portfolios in response to policy changes. A particular focus is on the effects of German reunification and the portfolio adjustments of East German households during the transition process.
Clinical translation of tissue-engineered constructs for severe leg injuries.

An important component of critical traumatic injuries is severe limb damage. Bone repair, vascular supply integrity and wounds closure are immediate concerns but the prognosis for long-term functional recovery is largely conditioned by inadequate soft tissue regeneration, and in particular skeletal muscles. Skeletal muscles account for more than 40% of the body’s mass and are central element of limbs. Among muscle damage, those accompanied by significant loss of tissue volume lead to important functional problems. Loss of muscle tissue can occur at the time of injury itself or be the result of diseases or surgical debridement of necrotic or damaged areas. Extensive muscle tissue destruction leads to a painful and disabling condition termed volumetric muscle loss (VML) that impairs normal muscular functions. Though muscles can often recover functionality through exercise-induced hyperplasia and satellite (stem) cells activation, regeneration does not occur in VML because the damage is too extensive.
Intragastric nitric oxide is abolished in intubated patients and restored by nitrite*

Objective:Nitrite in saliva is reduced to nitric oxide (NO) in the acidic stomach, and this NO may serve gastroprotective functions. We studied intragastric NO levels in healthy controls and in intubated intensive care unit patients before and after supplementation with nitrite. Design:Prospective observational study involving patients and controls. Setting:A mixed intensive care unit and a university laboratory. Patients and Subjects:Eight healthy volunteers and ten intubated, mechanically ventilated intensive care unit patients. Interventions:A tonometric catheter was first evaluated in vitro and then used for all NO measurements. In fasting controls, gastric NO levels were measured repeatedly during periods of saliva depletion and after an intragastric nitrite infusion. In patients, changes in levels of intragastric NO, nitrite in plasma and gastric juice, and S-nitrosothiols in gastric juice were measured in response to an intragastric nitrite infusion. Measurements and Main Results:The tonometric catheter had a recovery of 80% with a high intraclass and interclass correlation. Median baseline NO levels in healthy volunteers were 21.6 ppm (interquartile range, 11.4–22.3 ppm) and decreased by 90% to 3.3 ppm (2.0–5.2 ppm) during 25–50 mins of saliva depletion. The NO level was restored by an intragastric nitrite infusion. Baseline NO levels in patients were almost abolished (0.1 ppm [0.07–0.4 ppm]) but increased rapidly to 124 ppm (range, 65–180 ppm) during intragastric nitrite infusion. Nitrite levels in plasma increased from 0.18 ± 0.03 to 1.3 ± 0.2 &mgr;M (p < .01), and levels of S-nitrosothiols in gastric juice increased from 0.12 ± 0.09 to 6.7 ± 1.8 &mgr;M. Conclusions:Intragastric generation of NO requires continuous delivery of nitrite-containing saliva and is almost abolished in critically ill, intubated patients. Enteral supplementation with nitrite could however fully restore gastric NO levels. Future studies will reveal if low NO levels contribute to stress ulcers and gastric overgrowth of bacteria often seen in these patients and in turn if restoring gastric NO with nitrite could be a useful therapeutic approach.
Biallelic germline and somatic mutations in malignant mesothelioma: Multiple mutations in transcription regulators including mSWI/SNF genes

We detected low levels of acetylation for histone H3 tail lysines in malignant mesothelioma (MM) cell lines resistant to histone deacetylase inhibitors. To identify the possible genetic causes related to the low histone acetylation levels, whole‐exome sequencing was conducted with MM cell lines established from eight patients. A mono‐allelic variant of BRD1 was common to two MM cell lines with very low acetylation levels. We identified 318 homozygous protein‐damaging variants/mutations (18–78 variants/mutations per patient); annotation analysis showed enrichment of the molecules associated with mammalian SWI/SNF (mSWI/SNF) chromatin remodeling complexes and co‐activators that facilitate initiation of transcription. In seven of the patients, we detected a combination of variants in histone modifiers or transcription factors/co‐factors, in addition to variants in mSWI/SNF. Direct sequencing showed that homozygous mutations in SMARCA4, PBRM1 and ARID2 were somatic. In one patient, homozygous germline variants were observed for SMARCC1 and SETD2 in chr3p22.1–3p14.2. These exhibited extended germline homozygosity and were in regions containing somatic mutations, leading to a loss of BAP1 and PBRM1 expression in MM cell line. Most protein‐damaging variants were heterozygous in normal tissues. Heterozygous germline variants were often converted into hemizygous variants by mono‐allelic deletion, and were rarely homozygous because of acquired uniparental disomy. Our findings imply that MM might develop through the somatic inactivation of mSWI/SNF complex subunits and/or histone modifiers, including BAP1, in subjects that have rare germline variants of these transcription regulators and/or transcription factors/co‐factors, and in regions prone to mono‐allelic deletion during oncogenesis.