Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS: A PRE AND POST FINANCIAL RATIO ANALYSIS EVALUATION. EVIDENCE FROM GREECE

The mergers and acquisitions are a modern phenomenon in the financial sector. Like every business, so are the Banks looking for opportunities and ways to become more competitive to cope with the changes in the market. In this article we examine the profitability, liquidity and operational financial ratios in a pre and post acquisition case study from the Greek Banking System. From the analysis of those ratios we try to find out if there is an improvement of them when the bidder bank takeovers a "bad" target bank, and if any improvement how many years after the acquisition observed. The case of a pre and post acquisition of Emporiki Bank of Greece by Alpha Bank of Greece is a representative case study for describing what happened in Greece during the before and after the financial crisis. For examine this case study we use financial analysis evaluation with the most significant financial ratios of the involved int acquisition Greek banks. The evaluation of the acquisition is made with the use of balance sheets and the financial reports of the banks pre and post the acquisition took place. The research is based on the use of liquidity profitability and operational ratios and so the performance of the involved banks is presented and analyzed before and after the acquisition. Presenting and analyzing the performance of the two involved in acquisition banks, with the help of financial data will lead to conclusions about whether the acquiring bank has achieved its objectives. Of course these objectives were the improvement of profitability liquidity and operation profit of the bidder Alpha Bank Keywords: Banks, Mergers & Acquisitions, Financial Ratio Analysis, Liquidity Profitability. JEL Classification: G21, G33, G34
FUNCTIONAL PRINCIPAL COMPONENT ANALYSIS OF COINTEGRATED FUNCTIONAL TIME SERIES BY WON-KI SEO1

Functional principal component analysis (FPCA) has played an important role in the development of functional time series (FTS) analysis. This paper investigates how FPCA can be used to analyze cointegrated functional time series and propose a modification of FPCA as a novel statistical tool. Our modified FPCA not only provides an asymptotically more efficient estimator of the cointegrating vectors, but also leads to novel KPSS-type tests for examining some essential properties of cointegrated time series. As an empirical illustration, our methodology is applied to the time series of log-earning densities.
Analgesic and Anti-Inflammatory effects of Ethanol Extracts of Buchholzia coriacea Seeds in Male Rats

The analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties of ethanol extract of Bulchholzia seeds were investigated. Male albino Wistar rats weighing 140 and 200g were used for the study. The animals were randomly divided into five groups: group 1 which served as control; group 2 animals were treated with indomethacin (5mg/kg) only, group 3, 4 and 5 were treated with ethanol extract of Buchholzia coriacea seeds at 50mg/kg, 100mg/kg and 200mg/kg respectively. Analgesic effect of the extract was assessed using the formalin-induced paw licking and hot plate latency tests. Anti-inflammatory response of the extract was assessed using the carrageenan-induced paw edema method and cotton pellet granuloma test. B. coriacea at 50mg/kg, 100mg/kg and 200mg/kg demonstrated significant (P<0.05) analgesic effect by increasing hot plate latency period. This increase in hot plate latency was also significantly different (P<0.05) from that obtained in indomethacin treated rats. A dose dependent decrease in the early phase licking time was observed in the formalin test after extract treatment while an increase in nociception in the late phase was observed at 50mg/kg and 100mg/kg B. coriacea treatment. Anti-inflammatory studies indicate that the extract at 200mg/kg exerted significant anti-inflammatory effect in the late phase of carrageenan model of anti-inflammatory assessment while at 50mg/kg, 100mg/kg, 200mg/kg significant anti-inflammatory response was observed using the cotton pellet test. This study suggests that B. coriacea possess significant analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties.
Antimicrobial resistance surveillance among gram-negative bacterial isolates from patients in hospitals in Khartoum State, Sudan [version 1; peer review: 3 approved with reservations]

Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) among gram-negative bacilli is a global health problem. Surveillance of AMR is required to advise on empirical antimicrobial therapy. This study aimed at evaluating the frequency and the AMR patterns of gram-negative isolates from patients treated in eight hospitals in Khartoum State, Sudan. Methods: A cross-sectional laboratory-based study was conducted over a 6 months period at the Microbiology Department, Soba University HospitalKhartoum State, Sudan. All gram-negative isolates from blood, urine, wound, and sputum during the period of study were included. Identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing were carried out for all isolates. Results: A total of 734 Gram-negative bacilli were isolated. Klebsiella pneumoniae (249 isolates, 34%) was the most frequently encountered one, followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (153 isolates, 21%), E.coli (123 isolates, 17%), Acinetobacter baumannii (75 isolates, 10%), Burkholderia cepacia (42 isolates, 6%), Proteus mirabilis and Proteus vulgaris (28 isolates, each, (4%) Enterobacter colecaes (28 isolates, 4%), Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (21 isolates, 2.8%), and other gramnegative bacilli (15 isolates, 2.2%) The analysis of the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns showed that 134 (22.3%) isolates were resistant to three or more classes of antibiotics, including cephalosporins, βlactam–β-lactamase inhibitor, quinolones, aminoglycosides and carbapenems. Open Peer Review
Setting the Agenda: The Mass Media and Public Opinion

Dedication Title page Copyright page Boxes Preface 1: Influencing Public Opinion Our pictures of the world Contemporary empirical evidence The accumulated evidence Cause and effect A new communication landscape Summing up 2: Reality and the News Idiosyncratic pictures Perspectives on agenda-setting effects Content versus exposure Agenda-setting in past centuries Summing up 3: The Pictures in our Heads Pictures of political candidates Candidate images in national elections Candidate images in local elections Media influence on candidate images Attributes of issues Attributes of environmental issues Media influence on issue attributes Compelling arguments A third level of agenda-setting Attribute agenda-setting and framing Summing up 4: Why Agenda-Setting Occurs Relevance and uncertainty Occurrence of agenda-setting effects Relevance Personal experience with public issues Individual differences, media use and agenda-setting Summing up 5: How Agenda-Setting Works Evolution of issue agendas Explaining the transfer of salience Timeframe for effects Diversity of salience measures Summing up 6: Consequences of Agenda-Setting Priming public opinion Attribute agendas and opinions Forming opinions Attitudes, opinions and behaviour Agenda-setting role of business news Summing up 7: Shaping the Media Agenda The president and the national agenda Subsidizing the media agenda Capturing the media agenda Three election agendas Media agendas in local elections Attributes of local issues Three elements of elections A broader portrait Intermedia agenda-setting Summing up 8: Mass Communication and Society Transmission of culture New agenda-setting arenas Other cultural agendas Concepts, domains, and settings Continuing evolution of agenda-setting theory Epilogue: Media Agenda-Setting and Audience Agenda-Melding Political agenda-melding Our need for community agenda-melding Bibliography Index
Catalytic Enantioselective Addition of Organozirconium Reagents to Aldehydes

A catalytic enantioselective addition reaction of alkylzirconium species to aromatic aldehydes is reported. The reaction, facilitated by a chiral nonracemic diol ligand complex with Ti(OiPr)4, proceeds under mild and convenient conditions, and no premade organometallic reagents are required since the alkylzirconium nucleophiles are generated in situ by hydrozirconation of alkenes with the Schwartz reagent. The methodology is compatible with functionalized nucleophiles and a broad range of aromatic aldehydes.
Measuring Up: A Comparison of TapeStation 4200 and Bioanalyzer 2100 as Measurement Tools for RNA Quality in Postmortem Human Brain Samples

The determination of RNA integrity is a critical quality assessment tool for gene expression studies where the experiment’s success is highly dependent on the sample quality. Since its introduction in 1999, the gold standard in the scientific community has been the Agilent 2100 Bioanalyzer’s RNA integrity number (RIN), which uses a 1–10 value system, from 1 being the most degraded, to 10 being the most intact. In 2015, Agilent launched 4200 TapeStation’s RIN equivalent, and reported a strong correlation of r2 of 0.936 and a median error < ±0.4 RIN units. To evaluate this claim, we compared the Agilent 4200 TapeStation’s RIN equivalent (RINe) and DV200 to the Agilent 2100 Bioanalyzer’s RIN for 183 parallel RNA samples. In our study, using RNA from a total of 183 human postmortem brain samples, we found that the RIN and RINe values only weakly correlate, with an r2 of 0.393 and an average difference of 3.2 RIN units. DV200 also only weakly correlated with RIN (r2 of 0.182) and RINe (r2 of 0.347). Finally, when applying a cut-off value of 6.5 for both metrics, we found that 95.6% of samples passed with RIN, while only 23.5% passed with RINe. Our results suggest that even though RIN (Bioanalyzer) and RINe (TapeStation) use the same 1–10 value system, they should not be used interchangeably, and cut-off values should be calculated independently.
UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository) Sommerfeld-enhanced dark matter searches with dwarf spheroidal galaxies

We study observable signals from dark matter that self-annihilates via the Sommerfeld effect in dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs). Since the effect of the Sommerfeld enhancement depends on the velocity of dark matter, it is crucial to determine the profile of dSphs to compute the J-factor, i.e., the line-of-sight integral of density squared. In our study we use the prior distributions of the parameters for satellite density profiles in order to determine the J-factor, making the most out of the recent developments in the N-body simulations and semianalytical modeling for the structure formation. As concrete models, we analyze fermionic dark matter that annihilates via a light scalar and wino dark matter in supersymmetric models. We find that, with the more realistic prior distributions that we adopt in this study, the J-factor of the most promising dSphs is decreased by a factor of a few, compared with earlier estimates based on noninformative priors. Nevertheless, the Cherenkov Telescope Array should be able to detect the thermal wino dark matter by pointing it toward best classical or ultrafaint dSphs for 500 hours.
Complete genome sequence of Streptomyces sp. strain VNUA24, a potential antifungal bacterium isolated from soil

ABSTRACT Streptomyces species are important resources for secondary metabolites, including antimicrobial compounds. The Streptomyces sp. strain VNUA24 was isolated from a soil sample in Vietnam. The strain was identified as having antifungal activity against numerous fungal pathogens. Whole-genome sequencing was done to explore the biocontrol capability of this strain.
Building consensus for assessing land use impacts on biodiversity in LCA.

The UNEP SETAC Life Cycle Initiative has successfully provided a platform for consensus finding in the area of environmental indicators. A flagship project aims to provide global guidance and consensus on a few environmental indicators, including land use impacts on biodiversity. Land use and particularly land use change is one of the main drivers of biodiversity loss. However, no consensus exists yet on which indicators to use to quantify land use impacts on biodiversity within LCA. This is challenging for LCA on land-based products and production systems based in extensive land use, such as agriculture, forestry, open mining etc. The flagship project evaluates existing methods and models based on their ecological relevance, scientific robustness, transparency, reproducibility and applicability, among other criteria. The project is in progress with the ambition of delivering recommendations in 2015. This presentation focuses on identified methods and models to be included and review criteria for evaluation.
Anisotropic inversion of seismic data for stressed media: Theory and a physical modeling study on Berea Sandstone

Nonhydrostatic stress, an often‐ignored source of seismic anisotropy, is universally present in the subsurface and may be as common as intrinsic or fracture‐induced anisotropy. Nonhydrostatic stress, applied to an initially transversely isotropic solid with vertical symmetry axis (VTI), results in an effective medium having almost orthorhombic symmetry (provided that one of the principal stresses is aligned with the symmetry axis). The symmetry planes observed in this orthorhombic medium are aligned with the orientations of the principal stresses, and anisotropic parameters (e(1,2), δ(1,2,3), and γ(1,2)) can reveal information about the stress magnitudes. Thus, time‐lapse monitoring of changes in anisotropy potentially can provide information on temporal variations in the stress field.We use nonlinear elasticity theory to relate the anisotropic parameters to the magnitudes of the principal stresses and verify these relationships in a physical modeling study. Under the assumption of weak background and str.
Fossil Deer from the Yamashita-cho Cave No. 1

Cervine fossils, excavated from the deposits of Yamashita-cho cave no. 1, have been studied. Among more than three thousands specimens, 794 specimens were nearly complete and decided their own positions by their osteological characters. They are as follows:It becomes clear that the antlers and teeth are morphologically identical with those of Metacervulus astylodon (MATSUMOTO) from the Okinawa Island and her belonging islet, Ie-island. These fossils were unearthed from the Layers 4, 5, and 6 and among these three the main fossiliferous layers seem to be the Layers 5 and 6. According to the carbon-14 dating for the cave deposits, the Layer 5 is dated 32100±1000 years BP (TK-31). It is true that this species must lived at the Okinawa Island during the Late Pleistocene. It should be concluded that they become to be extinct at the end of Pleistocene and that also have no chance to migrate into Kyushu and further.
Extremely Low Frequency Electromagnetic Field Radiation (50 Hz, 200 µT & 300 µT) to Increase Edamame Productivity and Safety Risks to Health

More and more research results report that exposure to Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) magnetic fields at low intensity can increase cell proliferation. The ELF magnetic field interacts directly with cell membranes, capable of increasing intracellular calcium and under certain conditions affecting cell proliferation. This study wanted to prove the potential of ELF magnetic field radiation with intensity of 200 µT and 300 µT on edamame productivity. The research design used a completely randomized design. The research sample was 250 edamame soybeans of the Ryokkoh-75 variety which were divided into 5 groups. Samples were soaked in warm water for 3 hours and then cured for about 12 hours and exposed to ELF magnetic fields of intensity of 200 µT and 300 µT with variations in exposure time of 60 minutes and 120 minutes. Then it is seeded and planted in the field. Observation of the number of edamame pods and the number of pods was carried out when they were already fruiting, namely day 29 to day 43. The results of the study proved that the number of pods and the number of edamame pods in the group exposed to the 200 µT and 300 µT ELF magnetic fields was higher than the control. It appears that the highest number of fruits and pods occurred in the sample group exposed to the ELF magnetic field intensity of 300 µT. The conclusion is that exposure to the ELF magnetic field intensity of 300 µT has the potential to increase edamame productivity
Integrative network analysis highlights biological processes underlying GLP-1 stimulated insulin secretion: A DIRECT study

Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) stimulated insulin secretion has a considerable heritable component as estimated from twin studies, yet few genetic variants influencing this phenotype have been identified. We performed the first genome-wide association study (GWAS) of GLP-1 stimulated insulin secretion in non-diabetic individuals from the Netherlands Twin register (n = 126). This GWAS was enhanced using a tissue-specific protein-protein interaction network approach. We identified a beta-cell protein-protein interaction module that was significantly enriched for low gene scores based on the GWAS P-values and found support at the network level in an independent cohort from Tübingen, Germany (n = 100). Additionally, a polygenic risk score based on SNPs prioritized from the network was associated (P < 0.05) with glucose-stimulated insulin secretion phenotypes in up to 5,318 individuals in MAGIC cohorts. The network contains both known and novel genes in the context of insulin secretion and is enriched for members of the focal adhesion, extracellular-matrix receptor interaction, actin cytoskeleton regulation, Rap1 and PI3K-Akt signaling pathways. Adipose tissue is, like the beta-cell, one of the target tissues of GLP-1 and we thus hypothesized that similar networks might be functional in both tissues. In order to verify peripheral effects of GLP-1 stimulation, we compared the transcriptome profiling of ob/ob mice treated with liraglutide, a clinically used GLP-1 receptor agonist, versus baseline controls. Some of the upstream regulators of differentially expressed genes in the white adipose tissue of ob/ob mice were also detected in the human beta-cell network of genes associated with GLP-1 stimulated insulin secretion. The findings provide biological insight into the mechanisms through which the effects of GLP-1 may be modulated and highlight a potential role of the beta-cell expressed genes RYR2, GDI2, KIAA0232, COL4A1 and COL4A2 in GLP-1 stimulated insulin secretion.
Collaborative Filtering Recommendation Algorithm based on Cluster

The traditional collaborative filtering recommendation method suffers from sparse datasets, cold starts, and efficiency problems. Furthermore, recommend accuracy decreases with an increase in the amount of data. Therefore, we improved the traditional collaborative filtering recommendation method by increasing the same rating between users when calculating their similarity and running it on a cluster. Because of the above actions, the collaborative filtering recommendation method obtains a better accuracy. Through experiments, we saw that the method we proposed has higher accuracy and efficiency compared to traditional collaborative filtering recommendation methods.
Association Between Alcohol Consumption Patterns and Glaucoma in Japan

Précis: In this case-control study of the Japanese population, including 3207 glaucoma cases, alcohol consumption patterns such as frequency and quantity showed a positive association with glaucoma prevalence. Purpose: To examine the association between alcohol consumption patterns and glaucoma. Subjects and Methods: This case-control study evaluated 3207 cases with glaucoma and 3207 matched controls. Patients over 40 years of age were included from 1,693,611 patients admitted to 34 hospitals in Japan. Detailed alcohol consumption patterns (drinking frequency, average daily drinks, and total lifetime drinks) were obtained, as well as various confounding factors, including smoking history and lifestyle-related comorbidities. Conditional logistic regression models were used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% CIs for glaucoma prevalence. Results: Drinking frequency showed an association with glaucoma for “a few days/week” (OR, 1.19; 95% CI, 1.03–1.38) and “almost every day/week” (OR, 1.40; 95% CI, 1.18–1.66). Average daily drinks showed an association for “>0–2 drinks/day” (OR, 1.16; 95% CI, 1.03–1.32). Total lifetime drinks showed an association for “>60–90 drink-year” (OR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.01–1.49) and “>90 drink-year” (OR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.05–1.44). As alcohol consumption levels differed considerably between men and women, additional analyses were conducted separately for men and women. Among men, drinking frequency of “a few days/week” and “almost every day/week,” average daily drinks of “>0–2 drinks/day” and “>2–4 drinks/day,” and total lifetime drinks of “>60–90 drink-year” and “>90 drink-year” had an association with glaucoma. Conversely, among women, neither drinking frequency, average daily drinks, nor total lifetime drinks were associated. Conclusions: Both the frequency and quantity of alcohol consumption were associated with glaucoma. Further research on gender differences is warranted.
FUNDAÇÃO GETULIO VARGAS ESCOLA de PÓS-GRADUAÇÃO em ECONOMIA

This work compares dynamic factor model’s forecasts for Brazilian GDP. Our approach takes into account mixed frequencies and can handle missing data. We implement three models: the first is based on the Principal Components Analysis methodology; the second employs a two-step estimation method with quarterly inputs; the last is similar to the former but uses monthly series. A real-time out-of-sample exercise is proposed to assess the performance of these models. A dataset is created for each day within 27 quarters from the fourth quarter of 2010 up to the second quarter of 2017. For recent periods, the nowcasts estimated by both two-step procedures perform better than the average predictions of Focus Survey, a bulletin organized by the Brazilian Central Bank. We also show evidence that the average of GDP forecasts from this survey may be biased.
On Countryside Urbanization and Preservation of Countryside Characteristics

Nowadays the urbanization of countrysides is carried out fastly.Although it has advantages, it brings out many questions meanwhile, such as the reduction of the services and the lost of the rural characteristics. So basing on the concept analysis and the function orientation of the countryside, the article pointed out the influence of the urbanization process and the advantages of characteristics preservation of the countrysides. And then it advanced that using the method of rural landscape ecological planning to optimize the pattern of the countryside landscape is a feasible way to preserve the rural characteristics on the premise of regarding the culture tradition and the native feature. Also this method can create a new harmonious culture rural landscape system that will promote the sustainable development of the country and agriculture. Besides, this article discussed the principle, key, and the implement of the rural landscape planning briefly.
Analysis of South Asian Monsoons within the Context of Increasing Regional Black Carbon Aerosols

Abstract South Asian monsoons were analyzed within the context of increasing emissions of black carbon (BC) aerosols using a global atmospheric general circulation model. The BC aerosols were allowed to increase only over the south Asian domain to analyze the impacts of regional black carbon over the climatological patterns of monsoons. The black carbon significantly absorbed the incoming short wave radiation in the atmosphere, a result that is consistent with previous studies. Pre-monsoon (March-April-May) rainfall showed positive anomalies, particularly for some coastal regions of India. The summer (June-July-August) rainfall anomalies were negative over the northern Himalayas, Myanmar, southern China, and most of the regions below 20°N due to the decrease in temperature gradients induced by the absorption of radiation by BC aerosols. The vertical wind speed anomalies indicated that these regions experienced less convection, which reduces the precipitation efficiency of the monsoon system in South Asia.