Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Stakeholder Approach to Corporate Law: A Historical Perspective from India

The purpose of this paper is to examine the historical evolution of corporate law in India from the first corporate legislation in 1850 until the present in order to assess the manner in which such legislation has addressed the question of corporate purpose. Such evolution straddles the colonial period until 1947 when Indian companies legislation largely replicated parallel English legislation, and the post-colonial period when Indian corporate law began to deviate from its English origins on several aspects. As this paper demonstrates, early companies legislation in India during the colonial period largely treated a company as a private matter (similar to the nexus of contracts theory) with limited focus (if at all) on non-shareholder constituencies. This was consistent with the role of management in ensuring shareholder value maximization. This can be attributed to England’s own focus in that direction at the time. However, in the years following decolonization in 1947, the purpose of the company began undergoing metamorphosis with greater prominence being given to the public nature of the company and the impact of its actions on society. After a brief oscillation in the approach in the 1990s, recent reforms in corporate law culminating in the enactment of the Companies Act, 2013 have firmly ensconced the company within the framework of the stakeholder theory, and away from a pure shareholder maximization approach advocated by the nexus of contracts theory. The reasons for this sea change in approach are embedded in the political economy of the country, especially in the years following independence.
A Novel Protein That Interacts with the Death Domain of Fas/APO1 Contains a Sequence Motif Related to the Death Domain (*)

Signaling for cell death by Fas/APO1 occurs via a distinct region in its intracellular domain. This region contains a conserved sequence motif, the death domain motif, that is also found in the intracellular domains of the p55 tumor necrosis factor receptor and the low affinity nerve growth factor receptor, as well as in the regulatory domain of the ankyrins. A novel protein that specifically binds to the death domain of Fas/APO1 but not to Fas/APO1 molecules with a loss of function point mutation occurring in lpr mice was cloned by a two-hybrid screen of a HeLa cells' cDNA library. The cloned protein itself contains a death domain motif, and this region binds to the death domain of Fas/APO1, while the region upstream to the death domain prompts self-association of the protein. Induced expression of the protein results in ligand-independent triggering of cytotoxicity, suggesting that it is involved in cell death induction by Fas/APO1.
What are older smokers’ attitudes to quitting and how are they managed in primary care? An analysis of the cross-sectional English Smoking Toolkit Study

Objectives To investigate whether age is associated with access to smoking cessation services. Design Data from the Smoking Toolkit Study 2006–2015, a repeated multiwave cross-sectional household survey (n=181 157). Setting England. Participants Past-year smokers who participated in any of the 102 waves stratified into age groups. Outcome measures Amount smoked and nicotine dependency, self-reported quit attempts and use of smoking cessation interventions. Self-report of whether the general practitioner (GP) raised the topic of smoking and made referrals for pharmacological support (prescription of nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs)) or other support (counselling or support groups). Results Older smokers (75+ years) were less likely to report that they were attempting to quit smoking or seek help from a GP, despite being less nicotine-dependent. GPs raised smoking as a topic equally across all age groups, but smokers aged 70+ were more likely not to be referred for NRT or other support (ORs relative to 16–54 years; 70–74 years 1.27, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.55; 75–79 years 1.87, 95% CI 1.43 to 2.44; 80+ years 3.16, 95% CI 2.20 to 4.55; p value for trend <0.001). Conclusions Our findings suggest that there are potential missed opportunities in facilitating smoking cessation in older smokers. In this large population-based study, older smokers appeared less interested in quitting and were less likely to be offered support, despite being less addicted to nicotine than younger smokers. It is unclear whether this constitutes inequitable access to services or reflects informed choices by older smokers and their GPs. Future research is needed to understand why older smokers and GPs do not pursue smoking cessation. Service provision should consider how best to reduce these variations, and a stronger effectiveness evidence base is required to support commissioning for this older population so that, where appropriate, older smokers are not missing out on smoking cessation therapies and the health benefits of cessation at older ages.
Nationalising English Legal Language Pedagogy in L2 Genre-based Writing: Legal Problem Question in the UK Loci of Law. Implications and Challenges for the Pluricentricity of a Legal English Pedagogy

It is widely recognised that the prominent role of English as a global language affects the nature and form of English used in cross-cultural settings. Over the last decades, this role has formed the subject of a wider and interesting debate among researchers from different theoretical perspectives most notably in the analyses of Crystal (1997, 2003a/b), House (1999), Jenkins (2000, 2003, 2006), Maley (1985) Mc Kay (2002), and Seidlhofer (2001, 2002, 2004). As a result of this pluricentric approach to describing English language wordwide expansion, terms such as English as a Global Language (Crystal 2003a), English as an International Language (Jenkins 2000; Mc Kay 2002), and English as a Lingua Franca (Seidlhofer 2001, 2004; House 1999), have been increasingly applied in research. Among these, Seidlhofer’s (2001: 141) pedagogical view of English to serve as lingua franca is concerned with:
Effects of housing relocation on immunocompetence and psychosocial functioning in older adults.

BACKGROUND The psychological and physical response to moderate life stressors among older adults has not been well characterized. This research examines effects of voluntary housing relocation on distress and immune function in healthy older adults as a model for studying the effects of moderate life stress. METHODS Thirty older adults moving to congregate living facilities were assessed 1 month premove, 2 weeks postmove, and 3 months postmove. Twenty-eight nonmoving control subjects were assessed at similar time points. Subjects completed psychosocial questionnaires and had early morning blood draws in their homes. Blood samples were assayed for natural killer cell cytotoxicity (NKCC), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and IgG antibody titers to the Epstein Barr virus (EBV) viral capsid antigen. RESULTS Movers demonstrated decreased vigor and elevated thought intrusion 1 month premove and 2 weeks postmove. By the 3-month follow-up, vigor increased, and intrusion decreased to levels commensurate with the controls. Averaged across all time points, movers showed lower NKCC than controls; however, post-hoc analyses indicate that by the 3-month follow-up time point, these differences were no longer significant. There were no differences between groups in IL-6 or in EBV antibody titers. Independent of the effects of group, higher levels of vigor were associated with greater NKCC at all assessments and with lower EBV titers at 2 weeks postmove. CONCLUSIONS Findings suggest that in general, healthy older adults recover well psychologically from moderate. temporary life stressors such as moving. Whereas movers showed generally lower NKCC than controls, IL-6 and EBV antibody titers appeared not to be strongly affected by the stress of moving.
Therapeutic applications of ultrasound in ophthalmology

Therapeutic ultrasound, although less well known than ultrasound for diagnostic imaging, has become a topic of growing interest in ophthalmology. High intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) for the treatment of glaucoma and ultrasonic drug delivery are the two main areas of research and potential clinical applications. For the treatment of glaucoma, the specific advantage of HIFU, particularly when compared to the laser, is that the energy can be focused through optically opaque media, especially through the sclera which is a strongly light-scattering medium. HIFU is therefore a possible method for partial coagulation of the ciliary body (an anatomical structure responsible for the production of the liquid filling the eye) and, hence, reducing intraocular pressure and the risk of glaucoma. Ocular drug bioavailability also remains a challenge, being limited by multiple barriers to drug entry and lacrimal drainage, and making it difficult to achieve a sufficient drug concentration for numerous diseases of the front and back of the eye. As the front wall of the eye (cornea and anterior sclera) is a pathway for topically applied drugs, locally applied ultrasound has been proposed as a way of enhancing the delivery and activity of drugs and genes. Despite the fact that experimental studies seem to confirm the potential benefit of ultrasound ocular drug delivery, there is still a lack of clinical evidence. The aim of this contribution is to provide an update on recent advances in the field of therapeutic ultrasound in ophthalmology.
Laser speckle images research based on wavelet-domain hidden Markov models

Wavelet-domain hidden Markov models have proven to be useful tools for statistical signal and image processing. The hidden Markov tree (HMT) model captures the key features of the joint probability density of the wavelet coefficients of laser speckle images. In this paper, considering both the characteristics of laser speckle images after log-transformed and the statistical features of wavelet transformed images, a multiscale image filtering algorithm, which based on two-state hidden markov model (HMM) and mixture Gaussian statistical model, has been used to decrease the Gaussian white noise in speckle images. By using EM (Expectation Maximization) algorithm to estimate noise coefficients in each scale and to obtain power spectrum matrix, then this carried through the synchronized two Filter that are IIR(infinite impulse response) Wiener Filter and HMM, according to scale size, and achieve the experiments as well as the comparison with other denoising methods were presented at last.
Corporate risk reporting: Analysis of risk disclosures in the interim reports of public Portuguese non-financial companies

Fast changing environments, globalization, coupled with financial scandals, and the advance of information technologies made corporate risk a very central issue in management and accounting. Current governance codes require that management disclose in annual reports its responsibility for the adequacy of risk management and internal control systems and the disclosure of risk and uncertainties faced by companies are required by both governance codes and corporate reporting. This study seeks to capture risk disclosure patterns adopted by public Portuguese companies in interim reports and to investigate whether the audit quality may explain the observed risk disclosures practices. Manual content analysis has been carried out in the interim reports of 35 non-financial Portuguese firms ranked by decreasing market capitalization to create indexes of corporate risk disclosure, which have been used for observing the tone of disclosure and for testing an explanatory model with proxies of audit quality together with other explanatory variables widely used in disclosure research. Results point out that quantified risk disclosure prevails in interim reports and that firm’s risk disclosure policies are not influenced by auditor’s quality. This work contributes to academic and regulatory environments, filling the gap about risk disclosure in the interim report, identifying the nature of corporate risk disclosures, assessing the quality of risk information and updating research about determinants of risk disclosure in interim reports.
Power supply architecture for telecom application: A review

In this paper basic power supply architecture for telecom application is briefly explained. The merits and demerits of the architecture are presented. This paper is useful for evaluating issues and challenges in the research area of telecom application. This issue includes not only the improving efficiency, but also increased concern regarding the cost and complexity of power supply systems.
Buccal or sublingual misoprostol for cervical ripening and induction of labour.

BACKGROUND This is one of a series of reviews of cervical ripening and labour induction using standardised methodology. Misoprostol administered by the oral and sublingual routes have the advantage of rapid onset of action, while the sublingual and vaginal routes have the advantage of prolonged activity and greatest bioavailability. OBJECTIVES To determine the effectiveness and safety of misoprostol administered buccally or sublingually for third trimester cervical ripening and induction of labour. SEARCH STRATEGY We searched the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group trials register (8 December 2003), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (The Cochrane Library, Issue 4, 2003), and bibliographies of relevant papers. SELECTION CRITERIA Randomised controlled trials comparing buccal or sublingual misoprostol used for third trimester cervical ripening or labour induction with placebo/no treatment or other methods listed above it on a predefined list of labour induction methods. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS A generic strategy was developed to deal with the large volume and complexity of trial data relating to labour induction. Data were extracted onto standardized forms, checked for accuracy, and analysed using RevMan software. MAIN RESULTS Three studies (502 participants) compared buccal/sublingual misoprostol respectively with a vaginal regimen (200 microg versus 50 microg) and with oral administration (50 versus 50 microg and 50 versus 100microg). The buccal route was associated with a trend to fewer caesarean sections than with the vaginal route (18/73 versus 28/79; relative risk (RR) 0.70; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.42 to 1.15). There were no significant differences in any other outcomes. When the same dosage was used sublingually versus orally, the sublingual route was associated with less failures to achieve vaginal delivery within 24 hours (12/50 versus 19/50; RR 0.63, 95% CI 0.34 to 1.16), reduced oxytocin augmentation (17/50 versus 23/50; RR 0.74, 95% CI 0.45 to 1.21) and reduced caesarean section (8/50 versus 15/50; RR 0.53, 95% CI 0.25 to 1.14), but the differences were not statistically significant. When a smaller dose was used sublingually than orally, there were no differences in any of the outcomes. REVIEWERS' CONCLUSIONS Based on only three small trials, sublingual misoprostol appears to be at least as effective as when the same dose is administered orally. There are inadequate data to comment on the relative complications and side-effects. Sublingual or buccal misoprostol should not enter clinical use until its safety and optimal dosage have been established by larger trials.
GbEXPATR, a species-specific expansin, enhances cotton fibre elongation through cell wall restructuring.

Cotton provides us the most important natural fibre. High fibre quality is the major goal of cotton breeding, and introducing genes conferring longer, finer and stronger fibre from Gossypium barbadense to Gossypium hirsutum is an important breeding strategy. We previously analysed the G. barbadense fibre development mechanism by gene expression profiling and found two homoeologous fibre-specific α-expansins from G. barbadense, GbEXPA2 and GbEXPATR. GbEXPA2 (from the DT genome) is a classical α-expansin, while its homoeolog, GbEXPATR (AT genome), encodes a truncated protein lacking the normal C-terminal polysaccharide-binding domain of other α-expansins and is specifically expressed in G. barbadense. Silencing EXPA in G. hirsutum induced shorter fibres with thicker cell walls. GbEXPA2 overexpression in G. hirsutum had no effect on mature fibre length, but produced fibres with a slightly thicker wall and increased crystalline cellulose content. Interestingly, GbEXPATR overexpression resulted in longer, finer and stronger fibres coupled with significantly thinner cell walls. The longer and thinner fibre was associated with lower expression of a number of secondary wall-associated genes, especially chitinase-like genes, and walls with lower cellulose levels but higher noncellulosic polysaccharides which advocated that a delay in the transition to secondary wall synthesis might be responsible for better fibre. In conclusion, we propose that α-expansins play a critical role in fibre development by loosening the cell wall; furthermore, a truncated form, GbEXPATR, has a more dramatic effect through reorganizing secondary wall synthesis and metabolism and should be a candidate gene for developing G. hirsutum cultivars with superior fibre quality.
Prostate-specific antigen. Current role in diagnostic pathology of prostate cancer.

Prostate-specific antigen is the most important, accurate, and clinically useful biochemical marker in the prostate. It is manufactured by the secretory epithelial cells and drains into the ductal system, where it catalyzes the liquefaction of the seminal coagulum after ejaculation. Serum levels are normally less than 4 ng/mL (monoclonal) but vary according to patient age and race; any process that disrupts the normal architecture of the prostate allows diffusion of prostate-specific antigen into the stroma and microvasculature. Elevated serum prostate-specific antigen levels are seen with prostatitis, infarcts, hyperplasia, and transiently after biopsy, but the most clinically important increases are seen with prostatic adenocarcinoma. Cancer produces less prostate-specific antigen per cell than benign epithelium, but the greater number of malignant cells and the stromal disruption associated with cancer account for the increased serum prostate-specific antigen level. Serum prostate-specific antigen level correlates positively with clinical stage, tumor volume, histologic grade, and the presence of capsular perforation and seminal vesicle invasion; despite these strong correlations, its value is limited in predicting stage for individual patients. It may also predict the presence of lymph node metastases, bone metastases, and survival after androgen-deprivation therapy. The use of prostate-specific antigen has resulted in an increase in the early detection rate of cancer, and it is now advocated for annual routine use in men older than 40 years who are at increased risk and in all men older than 50 years. It is a test with high sensitivity and specificity that is rapid, inexpensive, minimally invasive, and acceptable to patients. In addition to serum prostate-specific antigen level, five derivatives of serum prostate-specific antigen were recently described that may increase the predictive value by accounting for confounding variables such as patient age, prostate volume, and cancer volume: age-specific reference ranges, prostate-specific antigen density, prostate-specific antigen velocity, prostate-specific antigen cancer density, and prostate-specific antigen doubling times. Serum prostate-specific antigen detects a heterogeneous group of cancers (clinical stage T1c) that are clinically important and potentially curable. Immunohistochemical expression of prostate-specific antigen in tissue sections allows determination of the prostatic origin of some metastatic adenocarcinomas, although extraprostatic expression of prostate-specific antigen has been reported in several tissues and tumors, including periurethral gland adenocarcinoma in women, rectal carcinoid, and extramammary Paget disease. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Bit Patterned Media at 1 Tdot/in2 and Beyond

Bit patterned media (BPM) provide an alternative to conventional granular thin film recording media, circumventing the challenges of managing grain size and its associated noise and thermal stability issues in granular media. A viable fabrication strategy involves creation of a master pattern by rotary-stage e-beam lithography and directed self-assembly of block copolymers, followed by pattern replication via UV-cure nanoimprint lithography and pattern transfer to a magnetic thin film by ion beam etching. These steps have been demonstrated for 150 Gdot/cm2 (1 Tdot/in2) hcp patterns, achieving a dot placement tolerance of 1.2 nm 1σ and a defect rate of <; 10-3. Media samples fabricated in this manner from continuous CoCrPt alloy films have achieved a 1σ switching field distribution of 4% of Hc. A 2T medium SNR of nearly 14 dB and a write bit error rate of 2 × 10-3 have been shown using a static tester with a conventional product read/write head. Modeling and experiment suggest that higher recording density can be achieved using BPM with a bit aspect ratio (BAR) >; 1. A master pattern generation generation strategy for BAR>; 1 with rectangular islands is shown using intersecting lines generated by directed self-assembly of lamellar block copolymers in combination with spacer-defined line doubling.
State-of-the-Art: Immunosuppression and Biologic Therapy

Azathioprine and 6-mercaptopurine are orally administered immunosuppressive drugs which are effective for the treatment of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Azathioprine is rapidly converted to 6-mercaptopurine after administration. 6-Mercaptopurine is then either converted to the putative active metabolites, the 6-thioguinine nucleotides, or inactivated by the enzyme xanthine oxidase to 6-thiouric acid or alternatively inactivated to 6-methylmercaptopurine by the enzyme thiopurine methyltransferase. Thiopurine methyltransferase activity is genetically determined, with one in 300 patients having low or absent enzyme activity, one in 10 patients having intermediate enzyme activity, and 9 in 10 patients having normal enzyme activity. Patients with intermediate or low thiopurine methyltransferase activity are at risk for early leukopenia. Higher erythrocyte 6-thioguinine nucleotide concentrations are associated with a greater likelihood of clinical response. Azathioprine is modestly effective for Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Toxicity associated with azathioprine includes infection and lymphoma. Anti-TNF therapy with infliximab, adalimumab, and certolizumab pegol is effective for induction and maintenance treatment of Crohn’s disease, and infliximab is effective for ulcerative colitis. Toxicity associated with anti-TNF therapy includes infection and lymphoma. Combination therapy with infliximab and azathioprine is more effective for inducing and maintaining steroid-free remission and mucosal healing then monotherapy with either drug alone. Strategies to reduce immunogenicity of anti-TNF agents include combination therapy with azathioprine and administration of a loading dose followed by systematic maintenance dosing. Higher serum trough concentrations of infliximab occur more frequently in patients receiving combination therapy with azathioprine and are associated with better clinical outcomes. Combination therapy is associated with an increased relative risk of opportunistic infection, but is not associated with an increased absolute risk of serious infection. Clinical practice should change such that combination therapy with an anti-TNF agent and azathioprine replace azathioprine in patients failing first line therapy with mesalamine and/or steroids.