Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Outbreak of the Russian Banking Crisis

Owing to a combination of domestic, regional and international factors, Russian banks have been strongly influenced by the worldwide financial crisis which started in the second half of 2008. In this paper, we estimate an early warning model for the Russian banking crisis. In a first step, we identify 47 Russian banks which failed after September 2008. Using the Bankscope dataset, we then show that balance sheet indicators were informative as early as in 2006 and 2007 about possible failures of these banks. Especially equity, net interest revenues, return on average equity, net loans, and loan loss reserves are identified as the early indicators with high predictive power.
NEW CHALLENGES FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF CARDIOVASCULAR AND NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS IN THE ELDERLY Novel instruments for risk stratification of elderly patients with cardiovascular diseases Beta-blockers for the treatment of elderly patients with coexisting heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary

NEW CHALLENGES FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF CARDIOVASCULAR AND NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS IN THE ELDERLY Novel instruments for risk stratification of elderly patients with cardiovascular diseases Beta-blockers for the treatment of elderly patients with coexisting heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Modulation of pro-inflammatory status of visceral fat: a novel therapeutic perspective for cardiovascular disease Calcific aortic stenosis: novel insights in pathophysiology, diagnosis and management Targeting oxidative stress for improving cardiovascular performance in the elderly Oral anticoagulation therapy in the elderly
Caution! Transitions Ahead: Politics, Practice, and Sustainable Transition Management

Green is not alone in contending that `̀ environmental c̀rises' require fundamental changes in the socio-technological structure of the way we live and work. ''(1) For those concerned with sustainability, the idea of transitionöof substantial change and movement from one state to anotheröhas powerful normative attractions. If `we' can steer change, shape future development, and manage movement in desired directions, perhaps `we' can make the environment a better and more sustainable place in which to live. But how so to do? In a manifestly complex world dominated by hegemonic ideologies of neoliberal capitalism, global finance, and commodity flows is it really possible to intervene and deliberately shift technologies, practices, and social arrangementsönot to mention their systemic interaction and interdependenciesöonto an altogether different, altogether more sustainable track? Across the board there is growing recognition of the holistic, unavoidably interrelated nature of contemporary environmental problems and of the need for fresh approaches and forms of governance capable of engaging with complex challenges of this kind. Theories and models of sustainable transition management, derived from a blend of academic traditions in innovation, history, and technology, appear to fit this bill and it is no wonder that they are now catching on across a number of policy domains. In the Netherlands, government-sponsored programmes have explicitly adopted methods of `transition management' (Kemp and Loorbach, 2006) and in the UK, the policy relevance of similar theories and methods is being explored and actively promoted through projects and events like those supported by the ESRC's Sustainable Technologies Programme. Academically, and in just a few years, there has been rapid growth in the transition management literature and in the appeal of approaches characterised by an alluring combination of agency, complexity, uncertainty, and optimism. We do not intend to provide a thorough review or critique of what is in any case a burgeoning and quickly evolving literature, but at a time when the notion of transition management is capturing so much attention it is as well to reflect on the distinctive features of this particular policy innovation. With this limited aim in mind, we offer some cautionary comments and identify a handful of questions that deserve more explicit attention. The notion of transition is firmly rooted in traditions of system thinking which highlight the coevolution of the social and the technical and which seek to understand and analyse the emergence, transformation, and decay of sociotechnical systems. Much of the `systems in transition' literature makes use of Rip and Kemp's (1998) `multilevel' model of innovation which distinguishes between the macrolevel of the sociotechnical landscape, the mesolevel regime, and the microlevel niche. The key Commentary Environment and Planning A 2007, volume 39, pages 763 ^ 770
Performance Analysis of a Memristor-Based Biquad Filter Using a Dynamic Model

New kinds of programmable amplifiers, adaptive filters, and programmable oscillators can be designed using a new fundamental circuit element memristor. Application of the memristor to analog filters can result in many new properties especially thanks to its variable memristance. In this paper, by using linear drift memristance model, a memristor-based biquad analog filter is examined. The filter is simulated using its dynamic model. The linear dopant drift model of TiO2 memristor is used in the simulations. Simulations have shown that the filter components such as gain and quality factor can be adjusted using the memristor in biquad filter. It has also been observed that memristor may go into saturation at very low frequencies and very low charge values. Considering the results of this study, the tunable memristance gives filters an adjustable characteristic which cannot be obtained by traditional resistors. Results presented in this study can also be considered when designing biquad filters with memristors to ensure their stability and high performance.
Mitigating Control Channel Saturation Problem in Cognitive Radio Network

Cognitive radio is opportunistic spectrum access network which means it a llows the unlicensed users to use the licensed spectrum opportunistically. However spectrum resources optimization re lies on information exchange between unlicensed or secondary users. Normally, it assumes that all necessary informatio n can be exchanged via a reliable channel and this introduces the usage of common control channel (CCC). However, it also brings some challenging such as, availability and reliability of CCC, control packets overhead, control channel saturation problem etc. In this paper, we try to compensate the control channel saturation problem by using channel clustering mechanism. First, we clus ter the available channels of the network and, second, secondary users select a proper cluster. The operations of the cluste rs are independent and users can perform control and data communication simultaneously on different independent cluster. It can significantly reduce the rate of control packets collision and it mitigates control channel saturation problem. And we also discuss abou t ssigning efficient control and data period to guarantee the fairness among users.
Phytochemical Analysis and Evaluation of Antidiabetic Activity of Rhus aromatica Mother Tincture by Invitro Methods

DOI: 10.21276/sajp.2018. 7.7. 2 Abstract: Diabetes is a clinical syndrome characterized by hyperglycemia due to absolute or relative deficiency of insulin. Rhus aromatica is a deciduous shrub in the family Anacardiaceae native to Canada and the United states. The aim of the current study was to screen the Rhus aromatica mother tincture for its in vitro antidiabetic activity. One antidiabetic therapeutic approach is to reduce gastrointestinal glucose production and absorption through the inhibition of carbohydrate digesting enzymes such as αamylase and α-glucosidase. Inhibition of amylase and glucosidase enzymes involved in digestion of carbohydrates can significantly decrease the post prandial increase of blood glucose after a mixed carbohydrate diet and therefore can be an important strategy in management of blood glucose. Free radicals are atoms or molecules that have at least an unpaired electron in their outer most shell or orbital,which are not contributing to molecular bonding and are capable of independent existence. Free radicals involving oxygen atoms are known as reactive oxygen species (ROS). In diabetic complication free radicals are generated, some of the most important ROS and RNS in vascular cells. The main characteristic of an antioxidant is its ability to trap free radicals. Highly reactive free radicals and oxygen species can initiate degenerative diseases. The best described pharmacological property of flavonoids is their capacity to act as potent antioxidant that has been reported to play an important role in the alleviation of diabetes mellitus. Antioxidant compounds like phenolic acids, polyphenols and flavonoids are commonly found in plants have been reported to have multiple biological effects, including antioxidant activity. The antioxidant potential of Rhus aromatica mother tincture was examined by DPPH free radical scavenging assay, nitric oxide (NO) free radical scavenging assay and Hydrogen peroxide free radical scavenging assay.
Quality metrics influence on iris recognition systems performance

When working with biometrics, regardless of the modality, it is essential to consider data quality, as it can limit the accuracy of recognition systems. In this context, the assessment of biometric samples quality by defining quality metrics can be used to enhance the performance and functionality of a biometric system. In this work, the influence of ISO/IEC 29794–6 quality metrics on iris recognition systems performance has been analysed. To carry out the analysis, the corresponding metrics have been calculated according to the computational method detailed in the standard and a quality score has been obtained. Then, in order to determine the metrics influence, an open source iris recognition system as well as one publicly available dataset, have been used. Results show to what extent an iris recognition system can be affected by input images quality, and also the most influential quality metrics on recognition accuracy.
Design of Three-Stage Nested-Miller Compensated Operational Amplifiers Based on Settling Time

Settling performance of operational amplifiers (opamps) is of great importance in analog signal-processing applications. Among different architectures, three-stage amplifiers are gaining more attention between analog circuit designers of modern technologies with small supply voltages where few devices can be stacked. Previous attempts to design and optimize a three-stage opamp based on settling time suffer from lack of a comprehensive analysis of the settling behavior and closed-form relationships between settling time/error and other parameters. In this paper, a thorough analysis of the settling response of three- stage nested-Miller-compensated opamps, including linear and non-linear sections, is presented. Based on this analysis, a design methodology is presented which determines the circuit requirements to achieve a desired settling time/error. It allows optimizations in power consumption and area based on settling time.
How to develop a pro-poor private health sector in urban India ?

Introduction India has the second-largest population in the world. But it is estimated that more than 290 million people in India live below the poverty line. While the urban population has nearly quadrupled over the past fifty years, one in three persons lives in abject poverty, in slums, squatter settlements, construction sites and on pavements in urban areas. The growth rate of the population living in slums, vis-à-vis the total urban population growth in the decade 1991-2001, has been summarized as a 2-3-4-5 syndrome: pointing to the annual growth rate of India’s population at 2 percent, of urban India at 3 percent, of mega cities at 4 percent and of the growth of populations living in slums at 5 percent (EHP 2003).
Comparison of Serologic Assays for Detection of Antibodies against Human Herpesvirus 8

ABSTRACT Improvement of serologic assays for detection of antibodies against human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) is critical to better understand its epidemiology and biology. We produced the HHV-8 latent (ORF73) and lytic (ORF65, K8.1, and glycoprotein B) antigens in the Semliki Forest virus system and evaluated their performance in immunofluorescence assays (IFAs) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs). These assays were compared with other latent antigen-based assays, including an IFA based on primary effusion lymphoma (PEL) cells and an ELISA based on bacterially expressed ORF73 antigen, as well as with other lytic antigen-based assays, including an IFA based on induced PEL cells, a commercial ELISA based on purified virions, and ELISAs based on K8.1- and ORF65-derived oligopeptides. We used a panel of 180 serum specimens obtained from three groups expected to have high, intermediate, and low HHV-8 prevalences. Using three different evaluation methods, we found that (i) the performances of the lytic antigen-based ELISAs were almost equivalent, (ii) the lytic antigen-based assays were more sensitive than the latent antigen-based assays, and (iii) in general, IFAs were more sensitive than ELISAs based on the same open reading frame. We also found that serum specimens from healthy individuals contained antibodies cross-reactive with HHV-8 glycoprotein B that can potentially cause false-positive reactions in lytic PEL-based IFAs. Although this is not a substantial problem in most epidemiologic studies, it may confound the interpretation of data in studies that require high assay specificity. Because the K8.1-based IFA provides sensitivity similar to that of lytic PEL-based IFAs and improved specificity, it can be a useful alternative to the PEL-based IFAs.
2018004-MARK Advertising Timing: In-Phase or Out-of-Phase with Competitors?

In many industries, brands systematically switch advertising on and off, a tactic often referred to as pulsing. The appropriate timing of these pulses in a competitive environment is an issue of debate. While some research suggests that advertising out-of-phase with the competition is most effective (e.g., Danaher, Bonfrer, & Dhar, 2008; Villas-Boas, 1993), others argue that timing advertising in-phase with the competition is more profitable (e.g., Freimer & Horsky, 2012; Park & Hahn, 1991). While previous research has extensively studied the performance consequences of advertising spending, much less is known about (1) what drives managers’ decisions on when to advertise and (2) if these decisions are in line with normative theory. The primary aim of this study is therefore to determine if, and to what extent, the competitive advertising timing patterns suggested in the normative literature are observable in practice. In this paper, we investigate the timing of advertising expenditures for 370 CPG brands in 71 product categories over a four-year period. We first establish empirically that pulsing is indeed the dominant form of advertising scheduling. Next, we show that advertising in-phase with competitors is more widespread than out-of-phase. Finally, we show that the extent to which advertising is in-phase depends on brands’ relative position with regard to advertising effectiveness, price positioning, and market power in the competitive interaction.
The Promise and Potential of Big Data: A Case for Discovery Informatics

The emergence of “big data” offers unprecedented opportunities for not only accelerating scientific advances, but also enabling new modes of discovery. While we understand how to automate routine aspects of data management and analytics, most elements of the scientific process currently require considerable human expertise and effort. We argue that realizing the full potential of data to accelerate discovery calls for a concerted effort in advancing Discovery Informatics: (i) understanding, formalization, and information processing descriptions of the entire scientific process; (ii) design, development, and evaluation of the computational artifacts (representations and processes) that embody such understanding; and (iii) application of the resulting artifacts and systems to advance science (by augmenting individual or collective human efforts, or by fully automating science).
Explaining the unexplainable: designing a national strategy on classroom communication concerning the 22 July terror attack in Norway

Background In the context of crisis and disasters, school-aged children are a vulnerable group with fewer coping resources than adults. The school is a key arena for preventive interventions; teachers can be given a key role in large-scale school-based interventions following a man-made or natural disaster. Objectives This paper describes a practical example of designing a school-based population-level intervention. Methods The preventive measures were delivered as a national communication strategy between teachers and pupils aged 6–19 concerning the terror attack on 22 July 2011 in Norway. The strategy is based on principles from international research. Results The presentation contributes to the discussion of defining the teacher's role in school-based crisis interventions and dealing with high-intensity media coverage of war, terror, and catastrophes. Conclusions The presentation provides educational and psychological perspectives on how teachers can take an active role in helping pupils to deal with such events through two approaches: the therapeutic approach, to restore calm and feelings of safety; and the educational approach, to foster reflection and deeper understanding.
Correlation of oral homogenous leukoplakia with grades of oral epithelial dysplasia

Background and objectives: Management of the oral leukoplakia poses a challenge in the general dental set up. It relies heavily on clinical presentation and grading of the histopathological diagnosis.Hence this study was done to correlate oral homogenous leukoplakia with the histopathological grades. Materials and methods:Study was conducted in 126 patients with the clinical diagnosis of oral homogenous leukoplakia and histopathological diagnosis. Data on age, gender, history of habits, lesion site at the initial diagnosis were correlated with the various grades of the oral epithelial dysplasia. Results: The results revealed mean age of 42.12 years, with wide range. 66.6% of the patient population were in younger age group. The site of occurrence were multiple with the buccal mucosa being frequently involved site in 71.6%. Predominantly 65.1% of the patients had the habit of chewing tobacco. 46% of the patients with homogenous leukoplakia had mild dysplasia, 26.2% moderate dysplasia, 13.5% of the severe dysplasia and 3.2% of the microinvasive squamous cell carcinoma. According to the binary system of grading dysplasia 42.9% patients had high risk grade. Conclusion: This study suggests that, severity does not depend on the clinical appearance alone, oral homogenous leukoplakia should be considered along with varying clinical factors.
The Evolution of Hearing from Fishes to Homo sapiens-A Chronological Review

The evolution of the human ear is a fascinating story of the formation and adaptation by trial and error of a primitive sound receptor. Human hearing is thus the end product of long and complex evolutionary steps, its primordium having first evolved from gill slits & jawbone of ancient fishes. Hearing is the most vital special sense organ to form the basis for communication by which civilization of the human race has taken place thus far. Knowing this evolutionary pathway will enable us to reason out the complex anatomy of human hearing in a better way. This review article is a synopsis from a number of scientific contributions in literature, which chronologically trace the origin & adaptations of the hearing apparatus from the era of fishes up to human life. It is paramount that the phylogeny & evolution of human hearing should be understood as it plays an important role in the understanding of the basis of congenital anomalies & inner ear pathophysiology. This knowledge will further help in propagation of evidence based clinical practice while managing various complex ear anomalies which we encounter in the present day.
DISCUSSION PAPER SERIES THE DYNAMICS OF DELEGATED DECISION MAKING

This paper investigates the behaviour of bodies or organizations, operating in a stochastic environment, where there is a delegated decision maker. A crucial decision is when to delegate to another decision maker. The problem may be intrapersonal, as occurs when there are endogenously changing tastes, or interpersonal where delegation is intuitionally necessary or where decision making is ‘as if’ there is delegation. This is possible if decision making is through voting an existence theorem is given. Decisions lead to shifts in control involving option losses; forward-looking recognition of this leads to the endogenous creation of hysteresis. The fact that the behaviour of other agents leads to hysteresis makes it optimal for any single agent to introduce more hysteresis. Organisations or bodies with many possible decision makers operate, in subsets of the state space, in one of two regimes, one where hysteresis is small and the other where hysteresis is large.
Prothrombotic effects and clinical implications of third-generation oral contraceptives use

Although the use of oral contraceptives has been frequently associated with an increased risk of thromboembolic events, definitive prothrombotic mechanisms have not so far been fully elucidated. The aim of our investigation was the evaluation of the activities of antithrombin, protein C, protein S and the resistance to activated protein C in 137 healthy users of third-generation oral contraceptives and in 170 healthy women who were not consuming oral contraceptives. Women on oral contraceptives showed a marked prothrombotic pattern, characterized by reduced activities of antithrombin and protein S, and increased resistance to activated protein C. Nearby 50% of oral contraceptive users displayed activities of protein S below the lower value of the reference range (controls, 1%;P < 0.001). No significant differences were observed between two progestagens (desogestrel or gestodene) on the coagulation parameters tested. We believe that, due to the adverse effect on haemostasis, the administration of third-generation oral contraceptives should be carefully considered in women carrying prothrombotic abnormalities.
An efficient comparison technique for sanitized XML trees

When comparing different versions of large tree structured data the detection of changes and according generation of the minimum cost edit script is a CPU and disc I/O intensive task. State of the art requires the complete XML trees to be in memory and intermediate normalized trees to be computed before any comparison may start. Furthermore, the comparison of sanitized XML trees is not addressed in these techniques. In this paper, we propose a comparison technique for sanitized XML documents which ultimately results into a minimum cost edit script that transforms an initial version of XML tree to a target tree. This method makes use of encrypted integer labels which encode the original XML structure and content. The content of the sanitized XML is readable only by a legitimate party. Based on this encoding, any third party can compare the tree nodes on the fly without relying on any intermediate normalized trees. Besides, it allows partial comparison as opposed to computing the full trees a-priori of starting any matching operation. To support our approach a modular algorithm describing the comparison technique is provided along with its complexity analysis.