Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Chronic alcohol abuse is associated with an increased incidence of acute respiratory distress syndrome and severity of multiple organ dysfunction in patients with septic shock

ObjectiveAlcohol is one of the most commonly used drugs in the world and causes dysfunction in many vital organs. However, the effects of chronic alcohol abuse on acute lung injury and nonpulmonary organ dysfunction are relatively unexplored. The goal of this study was to determine the effects of chronic alcohol abuse on the incidence and severity of the acute respiratory distress syndrome and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome in patients with septic shock. DesignMulticenter prospective epidemiologic study. SettingIntensive care units of four university urban hospitals. PatientsA total of 220 critically ill patients with septic shock. Measurements and Main FindingsThirty percent of the patients (66 of 220) were identified as having a history of chronic alcohol abuse based on a positive response to an alcohol screening questionnaire. The incidence of acute respiratory distress syndrome in patients with a positive history of chronic alcohol abuse was 70% (46 of 66), compared with 31% (47 of 154) in individuals without a history of chronic alcohol abuse (p < .001). After adjusting for differences in the source of infection, sex, age, chronic hepatic dysfunction, diabetes, severity of illness, nutritional status, and smoking status, the effects of chronic alcohol abuse on the incidence of acute respiratory distress syndrome remained significant (p < .001; odds ratio, 3.70; 95% confidence interval, 1.83–7.71). The effect of the source of infection (pulmonary vs. nonpulmonary) on the development of acute respiratory distress syndrome also remained significant in this multivariable analysis (p < .001; odds ratio, 3.68; 95% confidence interval, 1.95–7.18). Based on the highest daily Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score, patients with a history of chronic alcohol abuse had more severe nonpulmonary organ dysfunction when compared with nonalcoholics (9.42 ± 3.89 vs. 8.05 ± 4.10, p = .01). After adjusting for source of infection, sex, age, nutritional status, history of diabetes, and smoking status, the effects of chronic alcohol abuse on the incidence of nonpulmonary organ dysfunction also remained significant (p = .03; odds ratio, 2.07; 95% confidence interval, 1.09–3.97). ConclusionsWe conclude that chronic alcohol abuse is an independent risk factor for acute respiratory distress syndrome and increases the severity of nonpulmonary organ dysfunction in patients with septic shock.
Corporate social responsibility: a trend and a movement, but of what and for what?

Purpose – Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has emerged as a global trend involving corporations, states, international organizations and civil society organizations. It is far from clear what CSR stands for, what the trend really is, where it comes from, where it is heading and who the leading actors are. If one views it as a social movement, one must ask: a movement of what and for whom? The purpose of this paper is to examine the CSR trend in all its complexity and draw conclusions regarding its development and potential impact.Design/methodology/approach – Analysis of central documents and publications on CSR is combined with interviews with driving corporate actors.Findings – This article portrays the CSR trend in three ways: as a regulatory framework that places new demands on corporations; as a mobilization of corporate actors to assist the development aid of states; and as a management trend. Each of these portraits suggests certain actors, relations, driving forces and interests as being cent.
Indigenous Peoples, Customary Law and Human Rights – Why Living Law Matters

This work demonstrates the fundamental role of customary law for the realization of Indigenous peoples' human rights and for sound national and international legal governance. The book reviews the legal status of customary law and its relationship with positive and natural law from the time of Plato up to the present. It examines its growing recognition in constitutional and international law and its dependence on and at times strained relationship with human rights law. The book analyzes the role of customary law in tribal, national and international governance of Indigenous peoples' lands, resources and cultural heritage. It explores the challenges and opportunities for its recognition by courts and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, including issues of proof of law and conflicts between customary practices and human rights. It seeks to throw light on the richness inherent in legal diversity and key principles of customary law and their influence in legal practice and on emerging notions of intercultural equity and justice. It concludes that Indigenous peoples' rights to their customary legal regimes and states' obligations to respect and recognize customary law, in order to secure their human rights, are principles of international customary law, and as such binding on all states.
The Role of Insulin-Like Growth Factors in Small Intestinal Cell Growth and Development

IGF-I and IGF-II receptors are expressed in the small intestine of mammalian species, as are the genes to synthesize both peptides. IGF binding proteins are also expressed in the intestine. IGF-I and IGF-II mRNA are highest in fetal and newborn tissues and decrease with age. IGF-I mRNA is present in the adult small intestine, and is associated with the submucosal regions and crypt cells. IGF-I and IGF-II receptor binding to the small intestine is higher in newborn animals and decreases with age. Both receptors are more concentrated in the crypt than villus regions, but IGF-II binding is higher than IGF-I in all regions. IGF-I receptors are associated with the submucosal region of the small intestine, whereas IGF-II receptors are more abundant in the mucosal cells. Administration of IGF-I either orally or by osmotic pump generally has no affect on small intestinal weight or length, but does increase mucosal cellularity. LR3-IGF-I administration by osmotic pump affects the small intestine similarly to IGF-I, although with a higher potency. In the few studies in which IGF-II was administered, increased gut mass was observed in adult rats, but not newborn rats or pigs. Significant effects on mucosal expression of disaccharidases was achieved with either oral or subcutaneous IGF-I or oral IGF-II. Administration of IGF in models of intestinal hypertrophy and atrophy are also reviewed.
Evaluation of Rapid Antigen Point-of-Care Tests for Detection of Giardia and Cryptosporidium Species in Human Fecal Specimens

ABSTRACT In Bangladesh, a new parasite rapid antigen test was investigated demonstrating accuracy and feasibility. For Giardia species, it had a sensitivity and specificity of 94% and 100%, respectively. For Cryptosporidium species, it had a sensitivity and specificity of 100% and 100%, respectively. These are higher than or equal to the sensitivities and specificities of other tests on the market.
Trilemmas and Tradeoffs: Living with Financial Globalization

This paper evaluates the capacity of emerging market economies (EMEs) to moderate the domestic impact of global financial and monetary forces through their own monetary policies. Those EMEs that are able to exploit a flexible exchange rate are far better positioned than those that devote monetary policy to fixing the rate - a reflection of the classical monetary policy trilemma. However, exchange rate changes alone do not insulate economies from foreign financial and monetary shocks. While potentially a potent source of economic benefits, financial globalisation does have a downside for economic management. It worsens the trade-offs monetary policy faces in navigating among multiple domestic objectives. This drawback of globalisation raises the marginal value of additional tools of macroeconomic and financial policy. Unfortunately, the availability of such tools is constrained by a financial policy trilemma that is distinct from the monetary trilemma. This second trilemma posits the incompatibility of national responsibility for financial policy, international financial integration and financial stability. (This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)
Corporate Social Responsibility in Europe: Denmark, Hungary and Greece

This paper aims to define the meaning of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the context of the European framework and examine three different European countries. The main elements which encompass the meaning of CSR focus on activities with social and environmental sensitiveness, on a voluntary basis. The paper analyses the dimensions of CSR and presents its benefits. Furthermore, the paper provides a brief description of the recent CSR activities in the European Union, and attempts a comparative analysis of CSR activities and their respective impacts on three European countries: Greece; Denmark; and Hungary. Finally, the paper concludes that the effective implementation of CSR strategy cannot follow strict rules and should be adjusted to the culture, needs and particularities of each country.
Competition and the Growth of Non-Standard Employment: The Case of the Australian Construction Industry

ABSTRACT Studies on globalisation suggest that a factor in the growth of non-standard employment in developed economies has been the growing capacity of multinational corporations to arbitrage wage differentials across countries. This analysis applies in particular to industries subject to direct import competition such as commodities and manufactured goods or to non-personal services industries such as internet retail, call centres, engineering and computer consulting. Such analyses have little to say about industries not in these categories. This study focuses on the construction industry, which has experienced a growth of nonstandard employment greater than that for the economy as a whole but is neither subject to direct import competition nor in the non-personal service industry. The article suggests that a different mechanism associated with globalisation and intensifying competition is at work. This mechanism is associated with the increased reliance on private sources of funding for construction projects and, more importantly, the global nature of these funding sources in property trusts and superannuation funds.
Distinct requirements of positive and negative selection for selecting cell type and CD8 interaction.

We investigated the requirements of positive and negative selection in the thymus for CD8 interaction and the selecting cell type. Thymic epithelial cells are known to mediate positive selection, whereas thymocytes fail to do so. The reason for this failure could be either the low amount of MHC class I molecules on thymocytes or the lack of other properties required for positive selection. To address this question a CD2.Kb transgenic mouse was prepared in which the expression of the Kb gene is under control of the CD2 promoter. In these mice the thymocytes exhibited very high levels of Kb. The mice were crossed with two TCR transgenic mice expressing either the Des.TCR (anti-Kb), which is positively selected on Kk and negatively on Kb, and the 2C.TCR (anti-Ld) with positive selection on Kb and negative on Ld. Despite the high Kb expression on thymocytes in CD2.Kb x 2C.TCR mice no positive selection was observed, whereas efficient negative selection was found in CD2.Kb x Des.TCR F1 mice. Thus, although thymocytes can negatively select, even a strong increase of MHC class I expression cannot convert them into positively selecting cells. This is consistent with the notion that thymic epithelium is specialized for positive selection, but the respective difference between thymocytes and thymic epithelium is not clear. The influence of CD8 was investigated using transgenic mice expressing a Kk/A2 or a Kb/A2 hybrid gene in which the promoter, the alpha 1, alpha 2 domains were of mouse origin and the alpha 3 domain of human origin. Because the murine CD8 molecule does not efficiently bind to human HLA class I, in these mice the CD8 interaction was impaired. In Kb/A2 x 2C.TCR and Kk/A2 x Des.TCR mice no positive selection of the respective TCR was found, whereas in Kb/A2 x Des.TCR mice negative selection was still functional. Altogether, the results indicate that positive selection depends more strictly on CD8 interaction and cell type than negative selection.
The Social Multiplier of Tax Evasion: Evidence from Italian Audit Data

We investigate the role of individual interdependencies in tax evasion, arising from congestion on the auditing resources available to local tax authorities. Identification exploits a novel method based on comparison of the variance of individual behavior — concealed income in this case — at different levels of aggregation, within different subpopulations (Graham, 2008). This method allows us to mitigate some of the most severe problems that surround identification of neighbourhood effects, at the cost of identifying restrictions that arise naturally from our model. We employ a unique dataset of tax audits to about 75,000 self-employed individuals in Italy. Surprisingly, this sample is not statistically different from a random sample of taxpayers. We find a social multiplier of about 3, meaning that the equilibrium response to a shock that induces an exogenous variation in mean concealed income — such as tougher or looser tax enforcement — is about three times the initial average response
L ’ antibiorésistance : une question complexe

The discovery of antibiotics represented a turning point in human history. However, by the late 1950s infections that were difficult to treat, involving resistant bacteria, were being reported. Nowadays, multiresistant strains have become a major concern for public and animal health. Antimicrobial resistance is a complex issue, linked to the ability of bacteria to adapt quickly to their environment. Antibiotics, and antimicrobial-resistant bacteria and determinants, existed before the discovery and use of antibiotics by humans. Resistance to antimicrobial agents is a tool that allows bacteria to survive in the environment, and to develop. Resistance genes can be transferred between bacteria by horizontal transfer involving three mechanisms: conjugation, transduction and transformation. Resistant bacteria can emerge in any location when the appropriate conditions develop. Antibiotics represent a powerful selector for antimicrobial resistance in bacteria. Reducing the use of antimicrobial drugs is one way to control antimicrobial resistance; however, a full set of measures needs to be implemented to achieve this aim.
Beyond Kyoto: backstop technologies and endogenous prices on CO2 permits and fossil fuels

This paper analyses the markets for fossil fuels given that the limits the Kyoto Protocol sets on CO2 emissions from Annex B countries extend beyond 2008–2012. A forward-looking model with endogenous prices for fossil fuels is applied under different assumptions concerning the technological progress for a carbon-free backstop technology. Both the time-profile of the international permit price needed for the Kyoto Forever targets as well as the implications through reduced demand and lower producer prices for fossil fuels are calculated. The permit price has to rise at least up to 2030 in order to fulfil the emission targets. From then on the necessary permit price shows different future developments, dependent on when the backstop technology starts to replace oil. Since changes in the availability of the backstop technology shift the time-profile of the permit price, the loss of petroleum wealth for oil and gas producers varies between the scenarios, but is never more than 20%. Findings indicate that the reduction in gas revenues in OECD-Europe after the introduction of the targets amounts to a yearly loss of 0.01–0.02% of their total GNP for half a century. The reduction in oil revenues for OPEC is comparable to an annual loss of 2.9–5.4% of their GNP over a period of sixty years.
Turnpike Properties and Strict Dissipativity for Discrete Time Linear Quadratic Optimal Control Problems

We analyze the connection between turnpike behaviors and strict dissipativity properties for discrete time finite dimensional linear quadratic optimal control problems. We first use strict dissipativity as a sufficient condition for the turnpike property. Next, we characterize strict dissipativity and the newly introduced property of strict pre-dissipativity in terms of the system matrices related to the linear quadratic problem. These characterizations then lead to new necessary conditions for the turnpike properties under consideration, and thus eventually to necessary and sufficient conditions in terms of spectral criteria and matrix inequalities. One of the key novelties which distinguishes the results in the present paper from earlier ones on linear quadratic optimal control problems is the consideration of state and input constraints.
Resistance to macrolides, lincosamides and streptogramin type B antibiotics due to a mutation in an rRNA operon of Streptomyces ambofaciens.

Streptomyces ambofaciens produces spiramycin, a macrolide antibiotic and expresses an inducible resistance to macrolides, lincosamides and streptogramin B antibiotics (MLS). From a mutant of S.ambofaciens exhibiting a constitutive MLS resistance phenotype a resistance determinant was cloned on a low copy number vector (pIJ61) through its expression in Streptomyces lividans. Further characterization has shown that this determinant corresponded to a mutant rRNA operon with a mutation in the 23S rRNA gene. In different organisms, mutations leading to MLS resistance have been located at a position corresponding to the adenine 2058 of Escherichia coli 23S rRNA. In the 23S rRNA from S.ambofaciens a similar position for the mutation has been postulated and DNA sequencing of this region has shown an adenine to guanine transition at a position corresponding to 2058. S.ambofaciens possesses four rRNA operons which we have cloned. In Streptomyces, contrary to other bacteria, a mutation in one among several rRNA operons confers a selectable MLS resistance phenotype. Possible reasons for this difference are discussed.
Can Secret Intervention Be Compatible with a Non‐Profitmaking Central Bank and a Fundamental‐Consistent Target?

The coexistence of secret intervention operations and “the signaling channel” (Mussa. The Role of Official Intervention, 1981) seems confusing. Vitale ( Journal of International Economics, 49, 1999, 245–267) resolves this puzzle by employing an asymmetric information framework and an assumption of a fundamental‐inconsistent target for the exchange rate. Ferre and Manzano ( International Journal of Finance and Economics, 14, 2009, 378–393) follow Vitale's microstructure framework and argue that the central banks' profitability motivation offers a rationale for their secret intervention even under a target consistent with the fundamentals. However, that the authority uses its superior information to obtain speculative profits through secret intervention in the market is not a typical goal for central banks. To theoretically explain the opaqueness in non‐profitmaking central banks' exchange rate policies, we employ a model of a central bank's optimization by considering that no bank really knows the exact fundamental rate and they take into account the possible bad consequences of announcing the intervention. We also show that, in passing the bank's private information to market participants, a bank's announcement of the intervention size is equivalent to revealing its target rate.
Tens of Thousands of Nom Character Recognition by Deep Convolution Neural Networks

This paper proposes a method to recognize a large set of 32,695 Nom characters which had been used in Vietnam from the tenth century to the twentieth century before the Latin-based Vietnamese alphabet became common. So far, the largest sets to which character recognition methods have been studied, including the latest deep Neural Networks, are about 10,000 for the current set of Chinese, Japanese and Korean, but ancient languages of Chinese origin require much larger sizes of categories. Moreover, lack of training patterns makes the development of Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for Nom be a big challenge. On the other hand, the demand to archive Nom historical documents is very high since a large amount of documents are left uninterpreted and scholars who can comprehend Nom are decreasing. Therefore, we propose a method to recognize a very large set of Nom categories by Deep Convolution Neural Networks (CNN). The proposed method introduces coarse categories which are prepared by K-means beforehand. We construct deep CNNs composed by a coarse category feature extractor, a coarse category classifier and a fine category classifier including some inception modules. We pre-train the coarse category feature extractor and the coarse category classifier with the coarse categories, freeze them and then perform fine tuning to recognize characters in the whole categories of Nom. Unlike conventional cascade of coarse classification and fine classification, the coarse and fine category classifiers are executed in parallel to feature maps generated by the feature extractor and their likelihoods are multiplied. The experiment shows that this architecture provides the better recognition rate than the former cascade of GLVQ and MQDF.
TITIK KRITIS MANAJEMEN LABA PADA PERUBAHAN TAHAP LIFE CYCLE PERUSAHAAN: ANALISIS MANAJEMEN LABA RIIL DAN MANAJEMEN LABA AKRUAL

The objective of this study is to examine whether earnings management choices is different in changes of corporate life cycles (growth to mature and mature to stagnant). This earnings management behavior differences were shown by real earnings management and accrual earnings management. The real earnings management was indicated by three proxy such as abnormal CFO, abnormal discretionary expenses, and abnormal production costs, while accrual earnings management was indicated by discretionary accruals. Using manufacturing companies listed in the Indonesia Stock Exchange from year 2000 to 2009, I classify my sample into various life cycle using dividend payout, sales growth, capital expenditure value, and age. The data was collected using purposive sampling method. Total samples were 58 firms. The empirical results indicate firms in growth-mature and mature-stagnant are conducting income increasing. But this research do not find evidence that firms in growth-mature and mature-stagnant choose real earnings management. Keywords: real earnings management, accrual earnings management, corporate life cycle Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah menguji apakah terdapat perbedaan pilihan manajemen laba dalam perubahan siklus hidup perusahaan (growth ke mature dan mature ke stagnant). Perbedaan perilaku manajemen laba ditunjukkan dengan manajemen laba akrual dan manajemen laba riil. Manajemen laba riil diindikasikan dengan tiga proksi, yaitu abnormal CFO, abnormal expenses, dan abnormal production costs sedangkan manajemen laba akrual diindikasikan dengan discretionary accruals. Penelitian ini menggunakan data perusahaan manufaktur yang terdaftar di Bursa Efek Indonesia tahun 2000-2009. Pengelompokan siklus hidup perusahaan menggunakan variabel dividend payout, sales growth, capital expenditure value, dan umur perusahaan. Data dikumpulkan dengan menggunakan metode purposive sampling. Total sampel sebanyak 58 perusahaan. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa perusahaan yang berada pada titik kritis growth-mature dan mature-stagnant melakukan manajemen laba yang menaikkan laba. Tetapi penelitian ini tidak dapat membuktikan bahwa perusahaan yang berada pada titik kritis growth-mature dan mature-stagnant melakukan manajemen laba riil. Kata kunci: manajemen laba riil, manajemen laba akrual, siklus hidup perusahaan