Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Non-parametric analysis of bank merger gains: The case of Vietnam

Abstract Over the last years, the banking sector in Vietnam has been going through the restructuring period, in order to cope with non-performing loans and build up mergers and acquisitions. This paper applies the non-parametric method proposed by Bogetoft and Wang in 2005 to evaluate the bank merger gains in Vietnam during the period 2010–2016. The potential gains from mergers are thus estimated and decomposed into technical efficiency, scale efficiency and harmony effect. The results indicate that under the production approach, all six mergers obtain potential gains with the main sources from technical efficiency and harmony effect. Under the intermediation approach, five mergers exhibit potential gains with the main source from harmony effect, while technical efficiency contributes to the potential gain of two mergers. Accordingly, banks could benefit from the new management or learn from the more efficient ones and reap benefits from harmony effect by reallocating the service portfolio of related parties in the merger to boost their activities. The post-merger efficiency scores are also calculated and are found to increase slightly compared to the efficiency scores before merger, which supports the statement that mergers help banks improve their efficiency. This paper contributes to the gap of lacking analysis on mergers and acquisitions in Vietnam banking sector.
Impacto da evidenciação de informações no valor das ações das sociedades de economia mista

The objective of this research is to verify if the disclosure: (i) of financial statements; (ii) of communiques to the market and; (iii) the government’s own rating classification, affect the value of the shares of publicly held corporations. The research also aims to identify whether the impact on mixed-capital companies is greater than on other firms. The research is based on the 2003-2015 time period, and the sample consists of 3,514 firm/year observations, with 239 observations of mixed-capital companies. The events involving the disclosure of financial statements and communiques to the market were taken from the CVM website, while the sovereign rating events were found on the Brazilian Department of the Treasury website. Multiple regressions were conducted, which demonstrated that cumulative abnormal returns are impacted by mandatory and voluntary disclosure and by government’s own rating classification. It was also noted that voluntary disclosure and sovereign rating have an additional impact on mixed-capital companies.
High-speed wide dynamic range linear mode time-of-flight receiver based on zero-crossing timing detection

Abstract. We present an accurate laser radar receiver with a wide dynamic range intended for ranging applications based on an event-based approach, in which a receiver-time-to-digital converter is used to extract the timing information from the reflected echo. The receiver is based on LC resonance pulse shaping at the input so that the unipolar pulse detected by the avalanche photodiode is converted to a bipolar signal, and the first zero-crossing of this converted signal is marked as the only timing point. One important aspect of the proposed scheme is that it does not need any postcompensation or gain control for achieving a wide dynamic range. The receiver chip was fabricated in a 0.35-μm standard CMOS technology, and a laser radar platform was developed to verify the functionality of the proposed receiver channel. The measured accuracy of the receiver is ±3.5 cm within a dynamic range of more than 1:250,000 using 3-ns FWHM pulses when target materials with different reflectivities are used in the measurements. The single-shot precision of the receiver (σ value) is ∼5 cm for a minimum SNR of ∼10.
IDENTIFICAÇÃO DE Helicobacter spp. EM MUCOSAS GÁSTRICA E DUODENAL DE CÃES (Canis familiaris) UTILIZANDO A TÉCNICA DE WARTHIN-STARRY

Bacteria of the genus Helicobacter spp. have been identified on the gastric mucosa of different species of mammals, including canines. Infected patients have histological gastritis; however, not all the animals that carry the bacteria show clinical signs. The objective of this work was to identify the bacteria suggestive of Helicobacter spp. by impregnation by silver and to characterize the histopathological lesions observed. Qualitative evaluation was performed for histological analysis, in which scores from absent (-) to severe (+++) were attributed, considering the density of spiral bacteria per field (400x), presence of inflammatory cells, and number of lymphoid aggregates. Of the 26 animals evaluated, 34.6% presented positivity for helicobacteriosis. Gastritis was observed in 15.38% of the animals and a higher occurrence of bacteria of the genus Helicobacter spp. was observed in the gastric body/fundus region (23%). In nine samples, six from gastric body/fundus and three from antrum pylorus, lymphoid clusters associated with Helicobacter spp. were observed. Fisher's Test revealed a positive association between the presence of Helicobacter spp. and lymphoid aggregates (p<0.001). Infection by Helicobacter spp. is associated with the presence of lymphoid aggregates in canines. Keywords: dogs; histochemstry; intestine; spiral bacteria; stomach.
Insights into Polyphase Phanerozoic Tectonic Events in SE China: Integrated Isotopic Microanalysis of Detrital Zircon and Monazite

Widespread Paleozoic and Mesozoic granites are characteristics of SE China, but the geodynamic mechanisms responsible for their emplacement are an issue of ongoing debate. To shed new light on this issue, we present an integrated geochronological and isotopic study of detrital zircon and monazite from Cambrian metasandstones and modern beach sands in the Yangjiang region, SE China. For the Cambrian metasandstone sample, detrital zircon displays a wide age range between 490 and 3000 Ma, while monazite grains record a single age peak of 235 Ma. The results suggest that a significant Triassic (235 Ma) metamorphic event is recorded by monazite but not zircon. For the beach sand sample, detrital zircon ages show six peaks at ca. 440, 240, 155, 135, 115, and 100 Ma, whereas detrital monazite yields a dominant age peak at 237 Ma and a very minor age peak at 435 Ma. Beach sand zircon displays features that are typical of a magmatic origin. Their Hf–O isotopes reveal two crustal reworking events during the early Paleozoic and Triassic, in addition to one juvenile crustal growth event during the Jurassic–Cretaceous. The beach sand monazite records intense Triassic igneous and metamorphic events with significant crustal reworking. Such early Paleozoic and Triassic geochemical signatures of detrital zircon and monazite suggest they were derived from granitoids and metamorphic rocks which formed in intraplate orogenies, i.e., the early Paleozoic Wuyi–Yunkai Orogeny and Triassic Indosinian Orogeny. The Jurassic–Cretaceous signature of detrital zircon may reflect multistage magmatism that was related to subduction of the Paleo-Pacific Plate beneath SE China.
Education and Transition for Students With Disabilities in American Juvenile Correctional Facilities

National rates of juvenile incarceration show that about 33% of the population in correctional confinement has disabilities such as behavioral disorders or specific learning disabilities. All students identified under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) as having a disability are entitled to special education and transition services when they are incarcerated if they need specialized services. Despite the requirements for education and transition, research shows that rates of recidivism increase from about 55% for the general population of incarcerated youth to approximately 85% for youth with disabilities. This article addresses three related questions: (a) What educational and transitional services does IDEIA require schools to offer students in juvenile correctional facilities in the United States? (b) How are parents involved with the education and rehabilitation of their children with disabilities in correctional confinement? (c) What are the challenges associated with parental involvement and transition to and from incarceration for students with disabilities?
The influence of kappa casein protein polymorphism on milk production traits and other productive performance traits of Brown-Swiss cattle.

Polymorphism of kappa casein protein (κ-casein) in total 113 Brown-Swiss cattle was investigated using horizontal starch-urea gel electrophoresis method to verify its effect on milk production traits (actual milk yield, 305 d milk yield, actual fat yield, 305 d fat yield, fat percentage and lactation length) and influence of other factors such as parity and season of calving; aiming at utilizing it as a genetic aid in selection to improve the milk production traits of this breed. The allelice frequencies of A, B, and C were found to be 0.345, 0.633, and 0.022 respectively. Genotype frequencies were in accordance with the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. General linear model (GLM) was used to analyze differences between genotypes. The results indicated that κ-casein genotypes significantly (P<0.05) affected 305 d milk yield, actual fat yield, 305 d fat yield, fat percentage, and lactation length. But it had no effect on actual milk yield. Parity and season of calving had effect (P<0.05) on milk production traits. This study indicated that the κ-casein genetic variants may be used as a genetic aid through increasing the frequency of desired genotypes to improve the milk production traits of this breed.
Linked 3-D modelling of megathrust earthquake-tsunami events: from subduction to tsunami run up

E.H. M. , T.U. and A. -A.G. acknowledge additional support by the German Research Foundation (DFG) (projects no. GA 2465/2-1, GA 2465/3-1), by BaCaTec (project no. A4) and BayLat, by KONWIHR – the Bavarian Competence Network for Technical and Scientific High Performance Computing (project NewWave), by KAUST-CRG (GAST, grant no. ORS-2016-CRG5-3027 and FRAGEN, grant no. ORS-2017-CRG6 3389.02), by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (ExaHyPE, grant no. 671698, ChEESE, grant no. 823844 and TEAR, grant no. 852992).
S Wave Anelastic Attenuation of Shallow Sediments in Mainland China

Frequency‐dependent anelastic attenuation is a fact that must be considered when inverting seismic data. The shallow attenuation characteristics of large sedimentary basins with frequent earthquakes in mainland China are still unclear, which hinders the study of strong ground motion. Borehole seismometers distributed in these areas provide information on shallow structures. In this study, the direct and surface‐reflected phases in local earthquake borehole seismograms were extracted to calculate the average S wave anelastic attenuation of shallow sediments in mainland China. Relying on the seismograms recorded by 103 borehole stations, the attenuation values and lithologies of the shallow sediments above the borehole seismometers were estimated by applying a multi‐time window analysis method. We suggested that the QS−1 values generally decrease from 0.04–0.50 at 1 Hz to 0.01–0.05 at 10 Hz. We obtained the empirical relationships among attenuation, velocity, and depth and found that the dominant mechanisms for attenuation above and below a depth of 400 m could be different due to sediment compositions and scales. Certain borehole depths and corresponding Vs values were corrected by analyzing the time difference variation and the QS−1 distinction.
Scaling Laws of Scheduling Gain for Uplink Massive MIMO Systems: Is User Scheduling Still Beneficial for Massive MIMO?

In this paper, the scaling laws of scheduling gain and the feasibility of user scheduling for uplink massive multiple input–multiple output (MIMO) systems are investigated by analyzing the second moment of mutual information. We consider two well-known linear receivers of matched filter (MF) and zero-forcing (ZF). The exact distribution of the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) and its moment-generating function are first obtained, and the approximated variance of the mutual information for a user is derived as a closed form with a function of the number of antennas. The achievable scheduling gain under the optimal user scheduler is then derived using the Gaussianity of the sum rate. From the analyses and simulation results, it is found that the scheduling gain for the MF receiver increases with the number of base station (BS) antennas, while that for the ZF receiver decreases as the number of BS antennas increases, for most cases (except some impractical scenarios). Therefore, it is verified that user scheduling is still beneficial for the MF receiver while random user selection is sufficient for the ZF receiver in massive MIMO systems.
KONTRIBUSI PEMBELAJARAN GUIDED DISCOVERY LEARNING DAN LOCUS OF CONTROL TERHADAP HASIL BELAJAR PRAKTIK HIDROLIKA

Abstrak Tujuan penelitian untuk menguji kontribusi pembelajaran dengan pendekatan guided discovery learning dan locus of control terhadap hasil belajar Praktik Hidrolika. Penelitian menggunakan metode kuantitatif dengan deskriptif korelasional. Populasi penelitian yaitu mahasiswa yang mengikuti mata kuliah Praktik Hidrolika sebanyak 137 orang di Program Studi Teknik Sipil Fakultas Teknik dan Perencanaan Universitas Ekasakti Padang. Sampel penelitan sebanyak 78 orang yang dipilih menggunakan simple random sampling . Alat pengumpul data menggunakan angket dan dokumentasi hasil belajar mahasiswa. Data dianalisis menggunakan statistik inferensial dengan regresi ganda. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa: pembelajaran dengan pendekatan guided discovery learning berkontribusi signifikan terhadap hasil belajar Praktik Hidrolika; pembelajaran dengan pendekatan locus of control berkontribusi signifikan terhadap hasil belajar Praktik Hidrolika; dan pembelajaran dengan pendekatan guided discovery learning dan locus of control secara bersama-sama berkontribusi signifikan terhadap hasil belajar Praktik Hidrolika. Abstract The purpose of the research was to examine the contribution of learning with guided discovery learning and locus of control on learning outcomes for Hydraulic Practice. The research used quantitative methods with correlational descriptive. The research population was 137 students who took the Hydraulics Practice course in the Civil Engineering Study Program, Faculty of Engineering and Planning of Ekasakti University Padang. The research sample was 78 people who were selected using simple random sampling. Data collection tools used questionnaires and documentation of student learning outcomes. Data were analyzed using inferential statistics with multiple regression. The results showed that: the learning process with the guided discovery learning approach contributed significantly to the learning outcomes of Hydraulic Practice; the learning process with a locus of control approach contributes significantly to learning outcomes in Hydraulics Practice; and learning process with the guided discovery learning and locus of control as in aggregate significantly contribute to the learning outcomes of Hydraulic Practice.
Dissecting cell division in the human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus

Bacterial cell division is a fundamental process mediated by a large collection of proteins, collectively called the divisome. The divisome is responsible for the appropriate synthesis of new cell wall peptidoglycan to produce the septum, allowing the production of two new daughter cells. Although divisome components have been identified, their precise roles are not well understood. Many cell division proteins interact and coordination of information from the cytoplasm, through the membrane, to the peptidoglycan biosynthesis machinery is required. FtsZ is a key cytoplasmic component, which initiates septum formation resulting in new peptidoglycan synthesis via penicillin binding proteins (PBPs). In Staphylococcus aureus, cell division components, including EzrA, have been identified by a bacterial two hybrid analysis. EzrA, a membrane-associated protein, interacts with both cytoplasmic proteins and those with periplasmic domains. It is therefore proposed to act as an interface between FtsZ in the cytoplasm and PBPs in the membrane forming a scaffold for other cell division components. In this study, a combination of protein labelling and super-resolution microscopy approaches have been used to study the architecture of the cell division process in S. aureus. Conventional wide field fluorescence microscopy shows EzrA and FtsZ as uniform rings at the division site. Super resolution fluorescence microscopy of a strain, in which the only copy of EzrA was tagged with a fluorophore, revealed that EzrA does not form a homogenous ring but it is rather a collection of ‘patches’ distributed at the division site. FtsZ precedes EzrA and also forms heterogeneous structures around the midcell. Unsuccessful attempts were made to investigate the localisation of the essential PBP2 at molecular level using fluorescent proteins or fluorescent derivatives of β-lactams. A model of septum formation in S. aureus, in which a decreasing concentration gradient of cell division components wraps around the septum and forms a framework for peptidoglycan synthesis, has been developed.
Neosporosis in Animals

In the 1980’s a neuromuscular syndrome of dogs simulating toxoplasmosis was recognized. In 1988, a new genus, Neospora, and the type species, Neospora caninum, were named, cultivated in vitro, and differentiated from Toxoplasma gondii. A year later, N. caninum was identified as an etiological agent for bovine abortions. Considerable progress in understanding the biology of neosporosis has been made in the last 30 years, resulting in more than 2000 scientific publications. The economic importance of abortion in cattle, and the availability of knowledge, reagents, and technology used to study toxoplasmosis, have contributed to the rapid progress in understanding the biology of neosporosis. Whole genome sequencing of N. caninum confirmed close similarities between N. caninum and T. gondii. However, these 2 protozoans are biologically different: N. caninum causes a major disease in cattle, and canids are its definitive hosts, whereas toxoplasmosis is a major public health problem and felids are its definitive host. Both parasites have wide host range. Here we summarize information on the biology of neosporosis, starting with a chapter 1 on the historical background. Subsequent chapters deal with general aspects of the biology of N. caninum (chapter 2), techniques (chapter 3), and the disease caused by this parasite in cattle (chapter 4), dogs (chapter 5), and all other animals including primates and humans (chapters 6-18). Abortion is a worldwide problem in livestock industry accounting for annual economical losses of billions of dollars, and N. caninum is a major cause of it. Neosporosis causes abortion in both dairy and beef cattle. Abortions not only occur in cattle that have been exposed recently but also in chronically infected cattle, which poses a major challenge for vaccine development. There is no effective vaccine or therapy to eliminate N. caninum in cattle, but progress is being made. In this book, we provide an up to date account of structure, biology, clinical disease, diagnosis, epidemiology, treatment, attempts at immunoprophylaxis, and control in all hosts. There are 175 illustrations on the life cycle, structure of parasitic stages, and of lesions. More than 2100 references are cited. It is hoped that this book will be useful to biologists, veterinarians, and researchers.
Toward a better integration of requirements and model‐based specifications

As of today, most specifications of technical systems still rely on requirements written in natural language. However, this approach is known to be problem‐prone, due to the inherent ambiguity of natural languages. On the other hand, fully formal or model‐based approaches seem to be out of reach in many practical cases, especially in early design phases of systems. In this article, we study how to combine in a pragmatic way natural language requirements with models. We propose to keep both formats and to link pieces of text in requirements with elements of models. In other words, corpuses of requirements are managed as hypertexts with links to models. For this approach to be fully efficient, the text of requirements is not free, but relies on controlled natural language techniques leading to a partial structuring of the text. We show that this makes it possible to design (semi)automatic verifications on requirements and models, which would be impossible with unconstrained natural language. We illustrate here our approach on a small illustrative example and we report results obtained on a full size industrial application.
Physical Activity And Self-Rated Health: Social Issue

The article is devoted to the study of the relationship between the level of physical activity and self-rated health of school-aged children. The issues of the influence of physical activity on various indicators of the physical, mental and social components of health are widely studied now. The results of a number of studies reveal that the components of the health of school-aged children have a significant relationship with indicators of physical activity and physical fitness. However, the question of the nature of the relationship between physical activity and self-assessment of indicators characterizing the health of schoolchildren remains insufficiently studied. The data presented in the article were obtained during the 2017/2018 research cycle of the cross-national HBSC study in the Russian Federation. Follow indicators were selected for the study: the indicator of physical activity from moderate to vigorous intensity, and a group of indicators characterizing schoolchildren's self-esteem of health, mood, sleep quality, activity and emotional state. School-aged children engaged in physical activity for at least an hour 7 times a week more positively assess their health, mood, sleep quality, activity and emotional state. The next task is to clarify whether this phenomenon is an indicator of their general positive attitude as a result of a higher level of physical activity, or their health is actually better due to a higher level of physical activity.
Comparing Culicoides biting rates in horses and cattle in The Netherlands: potential relevance to African horse sickness epidemiology

To determine relative host preference rates and to establish whether a pair of animals in close proximity (between–host interaction) modified Culicoides attack and abundance profiles, compared to those tethered in isolation (host independence), Culicoides midges were pooted hourly from two sets of experimental animals: (1) a heifer cow and Fjord horse tethered close together (5 m apart), and (2) a heifer and Fjord tethered in isolation (45 m apart). Over 12 days, 570 3‐min observations yielded 23 090 midges, representing 24 species. Approximately 95% belonged to the Culicoides obsoletus (Meigen) complex (two species), Culicoides dewulfi Goetghebuer, Culicoides chiopterus (Meigen), Culicoides punctatus (Meigen), Culicoides pulicaris (L.), and Culicoides achrayi Kettle & Lawson (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) combined. There was no evidence for between‐host interaction. Mean Culicoides species‐specific attack rates did not differ between animal species, except that C. chiopterus was 7× more abundant on the legs of the heifer compared to the horse, and C. dewulfi twice as abundant on the upper half of the horse compared to the heifer. By contrast, mean species–specific biting rates of the C. obsoletus complex, C. chiopterus, C. dewulfi, C. punctatus, and C. pulicaris midges were 5×, 100×, 1.7×, 2×, and 2.5× lower in the horses compared to the heifers, respectively. It is not clear why high Culicoides attack rates observed in the horses do not convert into high biting rates as seen in cattle; this should be a subject for future research. In light of its apparent predilection for equids, the ability of C. dewulfi to replicate African horse sickness virus (AHSV) extrinsically should be investigated in the laboratory.