Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Application of classical and robust chain-ladder methods: results for the Belgian non-life business

The solvency II regulation for the non-life insurance business focuses on the application of the chain-ladder method in the EU. A recent memorandum of the EU also expresses its concern about the treatment of outlying data. Not only the appearance but certainly the consequences for the solvency risk capital are brought up. We will discuss the results of applying classical and robust chain-ladder methods to real data from several lines of business in the non-life insurance branch in Belgium.
Determinants and Accounting Consequences of Forming a Governance Committee: Evidence from the United States

This study examines a sample of S&P 1,500 firms over the period of 1996 to 2002. It finds that firms with a larger, more independent, and more active board, higher agency costs (as indicated by lower managerial ownership and lower takeover vulnerability), and past occurrence of class-action lawsuits are more likely to voluntarily form a governance committee. This study also provides evidence that having a governance committee brings real consequences in that it constrains managerial opportunism by reducing aggressive financial reporting.
Reverse D4F, an Apolipoprotein-AI Mimetic Peptide, Inhibits Atherosclerosis in ApoE-null Mice

Objective: Synthetic class A amphipathic helical peptide analogs of apolipoprotein-AI (apoAI; with varied phenylalanine residues) are emerging therapeutic approaches under investigation for atherosclerosis. Utilizing retroinverso sequencing, we designed reverse-D4F (Rev-D4F) peptide with 18 d-amino acids containing 4 phenylalanine residues and reverse order that allows the side chain residues to be of exact alignment and superimposable to those of the parent l-amino acid peptide. This study examined the effect of Rev-D4F on atherosclerosis in apolipoprotein E (apoE)-null mice and the underlying mechanisms. Materials/Methods: ApoE-null mice were fed a chow diet and administered water (control), Rev-D4F, or L4F mimetic peptides (0.4 mg/mL, equivalent to 1.6 mg/d) orally in drinking water for 6 weeks. Aortic root atherosclerotic lesion area, lesion macrophage content, and the ability of plasma high-density lipoprotein (HDL) to influence monocyte chemotaxis were measured. Results: Rev-D4F significantly decreased aortic sinus atherosclerotic lesion area and lesion macrophage content without affecting plasma total and HDL-cholesterol levels in apoE-null mice. The HDL from Rev-D4F-treated mice showed enhanced anti-inflammatory monocyte chemotactic activity, while low-density lipoprotein (LDL) exhibited reduced proinflammatory activity. In in vitro studies, Rev-D4F inhibited LDL oxidation, endothelial cell vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1), and monocyte chemotactic factor 1 (MCP-1) expression, and monocyte adhesion to aortic endothelial cells. Conclusions: The Rev-D4F inhibits atherosclerosis by inhibiting endothelial inflammatory/oxidative events and improving HDL function. The data suggest that Rev-D4F may be an effective apoAI mimetic peptide for further development in preventing atherosclerosis.
Transition of research focus from vasospasm to early brain injury after subarachnoid hemorrhage

Subarachnoid hemorrhage is a devastating disease that can be difficult to manage. Not only is the initial bleeding and rebleeding associated with high mortality, but a large fraction of patients also develop a delayed neurological deficit even when the aneurysm was successfully secured with clipping or coiling. Past research effort has traditionally been focused on vasospasm, which was conceived to be the sole factor for delayed neurological deficit. The failure of anti‐vasospastic drugs to improve outcome in clinical trials has brought into focus the significance of early brain injury. The immediate events associated with subarachnoid hemorrhage, including increased intracranial pressure, decreased cerebral blood flow and global ischemia initiate a cascade of pathological changes that occur before the onset of delayed vasospasm. These pathological changes in the very early stage of the hemorrhage propagate and cause blood–brain barrier disruption, inflammation, oxidative stress and cell death. Focusing only on the treatment of vasospasm with complete disregard for early brain injury is insufficient for the management of subarachnoid hemorrhage. Instead, a therapeutic intervention has to aim at stopping the molecular cascades of early brain injury that may lead to long‐term deficits in addition to vasospasm. We review the pathological mechanisms of early brain injury, which may reveal new therapeutic avenues that can be exploited to serve as combination therapy with anti‐vasospasm medications in the future.
Evaluation of the revised laryngeal tube suction: the laryngeal tube suction II in 100 patients.

BACKGROUND We prospectively assessed the performance of the laryngeal tube suction mark II (LTS II). METHODS LTS II was assessed during controlled and spontaneous ventilation during total i.v. anaesthesia. Ventilation adequacy, functional and anatomical positioning and airway seal were evaluated. RESULTS One hundred healthy patients (30F:70M) aged 18-85-yr-old were studied. Insertion of the LTS II was successful in 71 at first attempt, in 24 at second attempt and in five at third/fourth attempt. Median insertion time was 15 s (range 5-120 s). Temporary obstruction occurred in six patients. A median of one manipulation per patient was required to establish an airway (range 0-5). During maintenance, temporary airway obstruction occurred in eight patients. Use of the device was abandoned once during insertion, once during maintenance and once because of complications unrelated to the study. The airway was clear in 89 of 97 patients during maintenance and partially obstructed in eight. Median seal pressure was 29.5 (range 15-85) cm H2O. A gastric tube was passed via the posterior channel in 97 of 99 patients. The glottis was visible using a fibrescope passed via the device in 51% of patients. Via the drain tube the upper oesophagus was visible in 22% and this was open in 50%. Blood was visible on the device after removal in 12 patients. After the operation 14 patients reported mild sore throat. DISCUSSION The LTS II appears to be an improvement on its predecessor and merits further investigation comparing it with its competitors during use for anaesthesia and emergency airway management.
The new governance structure of French seaports: an initial post-evaluation

France undertook a large port reform in 2008, which came into force in 2010–2011. It mostly applies a landlord port model to major French seaports, with the prediction that doing so will restore competiveness. This article presents the 2008 port reform, discusses why it was needed, notably with regard to the underperformance of container traffic, and details how new governing bodies are sharing their responsibilities amongst themselves. To this end, a textual analysis of the agenda items for the governing bodies created since 2011 of the largest French seaport, Port of Marseille, provides a means to compare the items discussed by the former management bodies. This analysis identifies a trend, in which the supervisory board focuses on global issues, the advisory board addresses local issues, and the board of directors considers internal issues. Even if ongoing, this transition creates favorable conditions to work more efficiently and may represent a step toward the better performance of French seaports.
Demand side provision of peaking capacity and reserves in deregulated power systems

Provision of peaking capacity in deregulated power systems is an unsolved issue. The paper shows that reserve margins have been declining in several countries. Some existing solutions are discussed, and placed in the broad context of the theory of peak load pricing from the economic literature. On a theoretical basis, the gains of utilizing demand side elasticity are shown. The ideas are illustrated with a description of the situation in the Norwegian market. Finally, some cost aspects of demand side instruments are discussed.
What are relationships in business networks

An understanding of business networks and the specific processes affecting change in networks is intimately connected to the understanding of the nature of relationships. Relationships constitute the core aspect which connects actors, resources and activities in a business network. Presents an overview of basic features of relationships. Groups relational concepts from the business marketing literature into structural, economic and social dimensions. Outlines a marketing model of three network layers in business networks based on different types of actors. The proposed network layers in the model constitute the production network layer, the resource network layer and the social network layer. Finally, assigns relational concepts to their related network layers in a relationship matrix.
Exploring the Relationships between Mutation Rates, Life History, Genome Size, Environment, and Species Richness in Flowering Plants

A new view is emerging of the interplay between mutation at the genomic level, substitution at the population level, and diversification at the lineage level. Many studies have suggested that rate of molecular evolution is linked to rate of diversification, but few have evaluated competing hypotheses. By analyzing sequences from 130 families of angiosperms, we show that variation in the synonymous substitution rate is correlated among genes from the mitochondrial, chloroplast, and nuclear genomes and linked to differences in traits among families (average height and genome size). Within each genome, synonymous rates are correlated to nonsynonymous substitution rates, suggesting that increasing the mutation rate results in a faster rate of genome evolution. Substitution rates are correlated with species richness in protein-coding sequences from the chloroplast and nuclear genomes. These data suggest that species traits contribute to lineage-specific differences in the mutation rate that drive both synonymous and nonsynonymous rates of change across all three genomes, which in turn contribute to greater rates of divergence between populations, generating higher rates of diversification. These observations link mutation in individuals to population-level processes and to patterns of lineage divergence.
Changing Patterns in the Export of Goods Versus International Competitiveness. A Comparative Analysis for Central-East European Countries in the Period 2000–2011

Abstract This paper discusses the existing links between changing patterns in the export of goods, broken down by technology-intensity, versus intrenational competitiveness. The study covers nine Central-East European (CEE) economies: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and the Slovak Republic, in the time span 2000-2011. We examine the hypothesis of a strong, positive and statistically significant relationship between flows of export of high-tech and ICT manufactures industries goods, and an economy’s level of international competitiveness (approximated by the Global Competitiveness Index - GCI, see: World Economic Forum). Our methodological approach relies on elaboration of each country`s individual export patterns with regard to industries of different technology-intensities, and statistical analysis between the international GCI variable and variables identifying shares in total export of certain industries. Contrary to what was initially expected, our empirical results do not seem to support the hypothesis on statistically positive links between growing shares of high-tech and ICT manufactures industries in the total value of export versus the Global Competitiveness Index in the analyzed countries. Streszczenie W artykule analizie poddano zmieniające się ścieżki eksportu dóbr w podziale na gałęzie o różnej intensywności technologicznej. Analizę przeprowadzono dla lat 2000- 2011 dla 9 wybranych krajów Europy Centralnej i Wschodniej, tj: Bułgarii, Republiki Czeskiej, Estonii, Litwy, Łotwy, Polski, Rumunii oraz Słowacji. Dodatkowo postawiono hipotezę o zachodzącej pozytywnej relacji między rosnącym - w stosunku do całej wartości eksportu kraju-udziale sektorów technologicznie-chłonnych oraz międzynarodową konkurencyjnością, która jest aproksymowana za pomocą Global Competitiveness Index (GCI). Dane dotyczące eksportu pochodzą z bazy OECD STAN Bilateral Trade Database by Industry and End-use Category (BTDIxE), zaś te dotyczące międzynarodowej konkurencyjności - World Economic Forum. Wyniki przeprowadzonej analizy empirycznej nie potwierdzają statystycznej zależności między poziomem międzynarodowej konkurencyjności (GCI) a udziałem sektora high-tech oraz ICT w całości eksportu danego kraju.
Inflation Targeting in Practice

In recent years, an inflation targeting framework for monetary policy has been adopted in a number of industrial countries. This paper discusses the practical issues that have arisen under the operation of the new framework, and highlights five features of the framework: the assignment of the target, the interaction with other policy goals, the definition of the target, accountability and the role of inflation forecasts. The economic performance of the inflation targeting countries thus far is summarized.
Worker Responses to Quality Organisation: Discourse and Materiality in Organisational Change

This paper explains varying degrees of employee commitment to organisational change across four organisations. Of the many workplace innovations in recent years, Quality Management (QM) is one of the most common and also, potentially, the most far-reaching. QM is the backdrop for a focus on variations in worker acceptance of change and the factors which explain this. These factors are split into two dimensions. First, the discursive aspects of quality are analysed, that is, the management ideology or `culture of quality' and the way this is communicated to employees. Second, the more material bases of work and employment are examined. Neither discourse or materiality are privileged in the analysis; rather, it is argued that only by grasping the interrelationship between the two can a thorough explanation of employee responses be derived.
The Wage and Employment Effects of the Americans with Disabilities Act

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) is analyzed in terms of its effects on the employment and wages of disabled men using data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation. The results indicate that, as early as 1990, employment rates of men with disabilities decreased dramatically and continued to decrease through the beginning of 1995. On average over the post-ADA period, employment of men with disabilities was 7.2 percentage points lower than before the act was passed. In addition, wages of disabled men did not change with the passage of the ADA.
What Sentence are you Referring to and Why? Identifying Cited Sentences in Scientific Literature

In the current context of scientific information overload, text mining tools are of paramount importance for researchers who have to read scientific papers and assess their value. Current citation networks, which link papers by citation relationships (reference and citing paper), are useful to quantitatively understand the value of a piece of scientific work, however they are limited in that they do not provide information about what specific part of the reference paper the citing paper is referring to. This qualitative information is very important, for example, in the context of current community-based scientific summarization activities. In this paper, and relying on an annotated dataset of co-citation sentences, we carry out a number of experiments aimed at, given a citation sentence, automatically identify a part of a reference paper being cited. Additionally our algorithm predicts the specific reason why such reference sentence has been cited out of five possible reasons.
Efficient decomposition-based multiclass and multilabel classification

Decomposition-based methods are widely used for multiclass and multilabel classification. These approaches transform or reduce the original task to a set of smaller possibly simpler problems and allow thereby often to utilize many established learning algorithms, which are not amenable to the original task. Even for directly applicable learning algorithms, the combination with a decomposition-scheme may outperform the direct approach, e.g., if the resulting subproblems are simpler (in the sense of learnability). This thesis addresses mainly the efficiency of decomposition-based methods and provides several contributions improving the scalability with respect to the number of classes or labels, number of classifiers and number of instances. Initially, we present two approaches improving the efficiency of the training phase of multiclass classification. The first of them shows that by minimizing redundant learning processes, which can occur in decomposition-based approaches for multiclass problems, the number of operations in the training phase can be significantly reduced. The second approach is tailored to Naive Bayes as base learner. By a tight coupling of Naive Bayes and arbitrary decompositions, it allows an even higher reduction of the training complexity with respect to the number of classifiers. Moreover, an approach improving the efficiency of the testing phase is also presented. It is capable of reducing testing effort with respect to the number of classes independently of the base learner. Furthermore, efficient decomposition-based methods for multilabel classification are also addressed in this thesis. Besides proposing an efficient prediction method, an approach rebalancing predictive performance, time and memory complexity is presented. Aside from the efficiency-focused methods, this thesis contains also a study about a special case of the multilabel classification setting, which is elaborated, formalized and tackled by a prototypical decomposition-based approach.
MEASUREMENT PARAMETERS AND RESOLUTION ASPECTS OF MICRO X-RAY TOMOGRAPHY FOR ADVANCED CORE ANALYSIS

Micro X-ray Tomography (µ-XCT) is an emerging non-destructive imaging technology with large potential for application in advanced core analysis. This scanning technique provides 3-D images and quantitative information in the micron range, i.e. at pore scale level. µ-XCT will assist to gain fundamental insight on rock topology structure, in-situ physicochemical processes as well as grain contacts and micro-fractures. Especially in the Carbonate arena (e.g., Middle East), where pore structures are extremely complex, µXCT can provide a step change in our understanding of multi-phase flow properties of rock. The knowledge gained will lead to more accurate scaling relationships between micro- and macro- (field) scales enabling better estimation of hydrocarbon recovery. Tabletop µ-XCT scanners are envisaged to provide optimal flexibility for advanced core analysis research. In this paper we discuss the various measurement parameters that play a role in µ-XCT. Signal-to-noise ratio and spatial resolution are considered as the most important parameters for µ-XCT. Some results will be presented of an assessment study towards the performance capabilities of a number of tabletop µ-XCT scanners. In this study different reservoir carbonate rock samples as well as synthetic rock samples have been used. The spatial resolution of current commercial tabletop µ-XCT scanners is in the order of 5-8 microns, which is not sufficient to probe micro pores for carbonate rock. We have also considered technical innovations to enhance the spatial resolution in tabletop µXCT. Possibly the spatial resolution in µ-XCT can be improved using nano-focus X-ray sources with sub-micron focal spot. Further improvement in spatial resolution is expected from using emerging tabletop laser plasma X-ray technology. For applications in tight carbonates, synchrotron beam line based µ-XCT offers spatial resolutions below 1 micron.
Optimizing Usability Testing in the Context of a Large-scale Software Service for Digital Textbooks

The adoption of digital textbooks in education has steadily increased. This paper reports on the initiative Digi4School aiming to provide a large-scale software service for digital textbooks. Since the usability of this service is of particular concern, it is the subject of a design science research project with the goal to investigate two artifacts: (1) an optimized method for usability testing and (2) a fully-functional software service for delivering digital textbooks to users with heterogeneous IT background. We conclude that a combination of usability tests and the use of a questionnaire including closed and open-ended questions is recommended. Furthermore, both novice and expert users should evaluate a system’s usability with iterations until the usability measures reach a satisfactory level for all users. This was achieved for Digi4School. Such an approach has the potential to identify and eliminate flaws that prevent users from adopting the system.
Is E-Government Promoting Convergence Towards More Accountable Local Governments?

ABSTRACT This article analyzes how extensively European Union local governments are using their websites to disseminate financial information in order to evaluate whether electronic-government (e-government) is promoting convergence towards more accountable local governments. We also posit and test various hypotheses about the influence of internal and contextual factors on Internet financial reporting (IFR) practices. Results show that the public administration style, the size of the city, and the audit of financial information by private firms are significant explanatory factors of IFR practices. Our findings also suggest that multilateral organizations are overly optimistic about the possible convergence in transparency and financial accountability through the use of common modes of IFR. That is, the introduction of information and communication technologies without the corresponding institutional reform is leading to limited success of IFR.
Performance Implications of IJV Boards: A Contingency Perspective

This study draws from the corporate governance literature to investigate the implications of board involvement for international joint ventures (IJVs). We extend recent corporate governance research on the value of board involvement by investigating unique sources of complexity related to the nature of the IJV. We argue and find that board involvement can enhance the performance of IJVs, particularly for collaborations that are complex in nature due to their broad functional scope as well the level of market overlap between IJV parents. We complement recent research on joint venture control that has focused on the antecedents and types of control, as well as studies on formal (e.g. contractual safeguards and monitoring) and informal governance mechanisms (e.g. trust) by providing empirical evidence that IJV board involvement is valuable when directors undertake their control and coordination responsibilities. We advance corporate governance research by providing evidence that joint ventures possess several unique characteristics that shape the value of board involvement, thereby showing that applications of corporate governance theory to joint ventures are useful, but should be made with care.