Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The capitalization of operating leases: Analysis of the impact on the IBEX 35 companies

Purpose: This paper analyzes the consequences of the change in the accounting rules about operating leases in the companies and users of financial information. Design/methodology/approach: We use the constructive capitalization method to estimate the liabilities and leased assets and perform an ex ante analysis of the regulatory impact in the IBEX 35 non-financial companies. Non-parametric tests are employed to examine the effect on certain ratios, and through a multivariate regression we investigate the business characteristics that explain the variation of EBITDA. Findings: The ratios under study are significantly affected by the capitalization of operating leases. The explanatory analysis shows that larger companies, which have a higher market valuation and belong to the retail sectors are the ones with a greater increase in EBITDA. Research limitations/implications: The sample size is small, which implies some caution in the generalization of the results. Certain hypotheses have been introduced to apply the constructive method, although the sensitivity tests confirm that the results are robust. Practical implications: In certain cases, to avoid non-compliance with restrictions, particularly in debt contracts, contract renegotiations should be initiated. The constructive method yields liabilities and assets significantly smaller than other simpler methods (such as the factor method), so these results can be a relief for certain non-sophisticated users. Social implications: Investors, shareholders and lenders, and other users will have more transparent information, which should improve their decision-making. Originality/value: The study of the impact on the magnitudes of the balance sheet and the financial ratios is complemented with a descriptive analysis, which takes into account the industry, and with the modeling of the explanatory factors of the change in EBITDA.
On Probabilistic Expectations and Rounding in Surveys

Answers to subjective probability questions in surveys are mainly heaped to different degrees at multiples of 5 or 10, suggesting that respondents round their responses. Taking these responses at face value is clearly problematic for gross form of rounding, given that a respondent gives a point response when only a wide interval response is meaningful. This paper analyzes three subjective probability questions posed in the Survey of Economic Expectations. The specific format of these questions permits, under some mild assumptions, to develop for each question a measure related to the extent of rounding. Whatever the question, a substantial fraction of answers are rounded grossly; it includes a majority of the 50s, as well as numerous M10. We are also able to find that younger respondents are more likely to provide a gross rounding to one of the question which asks them their expectations concerning the Social Security benefits that they will collect when they will turn 70.
Telithromycin Treatment of Chronic Chlamydia pneumoniae Infection in C57BL/6J mice

ABSTRACT Chronic Chlamydia pneumoniae infections have been associated with atherosclerosis, but clear knowledge about how these infections should be treated is lacking. We studied the effect of a new ketolide antibiotic, telithromycin, on chronic C. pneumoniae lung infection. Female C57BL/6J mice on a 0.2% cholesterol diet were inoculated intranasally with C. pneumoniae either two or three times every fourth week. Telithromycin was given to the mice subcutaneously at 75 mg/kg of body weight once daily for 5 or 10 days, starting at 3 days after the last inoculation. Samples were taken at 4 and 12 weeks after the last inoculation. The presence of C. pneumoniae DNA in lung tissue was demonstrated by PCR and the detection of lipid accumulation in the aortic sinus by Oil-Red-O staining. C. pneumoniae DNA positivity and inflammatory reactions in the lung tissue of the mice inoculated twice were significantly affected by treatment after both inoculations or only after the second inoculation at 12 weeks. Intimal lipid accumulation in the aortic sinus was also slightly but significantly less abundant in the mice treated after both inoculations compared to the levels in those treated only after the second inoculation for 10 days (geometric means, 823 and 4,324 μm2, respectively; P = 0.033). No differences between the infected, untreated controls and the group inoculated three times and treated for 5 days were seen. We conclude that telithromycin is effective in preventing the development of chronic C. pneumoniae infection and intimal lipid accumulation in C56BL/6J mice when the treatment is given after each inoculation.
Multiview Feature Selection for Very High Resolution Remote Sensing Images

Object based image analysis on very high resolution (VHR) remote sensing imagery often ignores the heterogeneous constitution of feature spaces. In this paper, a supervised multiview feature selection (SMFS) method is proposed. In this method, features are decomposed into multiple disjoint and meaningful feature subsets by employing affinity propagation, where each feature subset represents a view, and each view describes a data characteristic. Features are evaluated and selected within each view. The experimental results on two VHR satellite images, including Quickbird-2 and Worldview-2 images attest to the effectiveness and practicability of the method in compared with traditional single-view algorithms. The results also demonstrate the utility of multiview information in processing VHR datasets.
An Examination of Local School Wellness Policies in Virginia

In response to the dramatic increase in the prevalence of childhood overweight, a provision of the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 required school divisions participating in the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs to adopt local school wellness policies (LWP) by the fall of 2006. The local school wellness policies were to include guidelines for nutrition education, physical education (PE) and physical activity, and foods offered on campus. The purpose of this study was two-fold: 1) compare and contrast proposed goals versus adopted policies in Virginia; and 2) analyze the rigor of LWPs in Virginia. All LWPs in Virginia were reviewed with each item scored as required or recommended and specific or broad. Chi-square analyses were used to compare policies that were proposed and adopted. Eighty-one local wellness policies were matched to goals. In general, school divisions did not adopt as many policies as proposed. LWPs met only the minimum requirements mandated. Only 56 (69.1%) had policy language for more than one category in each of the three areas studied with nutrition education policies more popular than physical education/physical activity and nutrition guidelines. For example, 60 schools adopted policies to promote classroom nutrition education, whereas no LWPs contained policy language to improve PE teacherstudent ratio. Further, specificity proved to be a concern. The results suggest that while schools may be meeting the minimum requirements, the LWPs may not be promoting school health to the degree intended. 1. Ogden CL, Flegal KM, Carroll MD, Johnson CL. Prevalence and Trends in Overweight Among Children and Adolescents, 1999-2000. JAMA. 2002;288:1728-32. 2. US 108 Congress, Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004. S 2507. Available at: http://agriculture.senate. gov/Legislation/Compilations/FNS/CNWRA04.pdf. Accessed December 19, 2007. 3. Serrano E, Kowaleska A, Hosig K, Fuller C, Fellin L, Wigand V. Status and Goals of Local Wellness Policies in Virginia: A Response to the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. 2007;39(2):95-100.
Single cells electrical characterizations using nanoprobe via ESEM-nanomanipulator system

We perform electrical characterization on single cells using dual nanoprobe through environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM)-nanomanipulator system. The ability to characterize the electrical property of single cells can be used as a novel method for cell viability detection in a quantitative and fast manner. The nanoprobe has been successfully fabricated using focused ion beam (FIB) tungsten deposition and etching processes. The characteristics of the nanoprobe have been examined from the energy dispersion spectrometry (EDS) and noise analyses. In this paper, for the first time, the electrical property of single cells under their native condition was presented. In order to realize this method for cell viability detection, two types of cells were used, i.e. dead cells and live cells. The results showed that there is a significant different on the electrical measurement data between dead and live cells.
The MAP kinase JNK‐1 of Caenorhabditis elegans: Location, activation, and influences over temperature‐dependent insulin‐like signaling, stress responses, and fitness

The mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways and insulin‐like signaling play pivotal roles in cellular stress response. Using an anti‐phospho‐SAPK/JNK antibody and a daf‐16::GFP‐based reporter assay, the present study shows in Caenorhabditis elegans that ambient temperature (1–37°C) specifically influences the activation (phosphorylation) of the MAP kinase JNK‐1 as well as the nuclear translocation of DAF‐16, the main downstream target of insulin‐like signaling. Activated JNK‐1 was detected only in neuronal cells, and JNK‐1 was found to be controlled by the MAPK JKK‐1 under heat stress. Comparative analyses on the wildtype and a jnk‐1 deletion mutant revealed a promoting influence of JNK‐1 on both nuclear DAF‐16 translocations and DAF‐16 target gene (superoxide dismutase 3, sod‐3) expressions within peripheral, non‐neuronal tissue. Consequently, the mutant exhibited a reduced thermal tolerance and reproductive fitness at higher temperatures. These results provide evidence of indirect interactions between neuronal MAPK and peripheral insulin‐like signaling in response to environmental stimuli (temperature, H2O2). J. Cell. Physiol. 214: 721–729, 2008. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Octagonal MOSFET: Reliable device for low power analog applications

Low power analog circuits needs large and short MOSFETs biased in the sub-threshold area with good performances in terms of matching. In order to reach these specifications, octagonal transistors are proposed. Due to their design, these transistors avoid hump effect. As a consequence, gate-source voltage matching under-threshold is always at its best level. Moreover, the paper shows the device robustness to hot carrier stress is improved on octagonal NMOS; VT matching degradation due to hot carrier stress is also improved with an octagonal design.
Biochemical and spectroscopic studies of the response of Convolvulus arvensis L. to chromium(III) and chromium(VI) stress

The objective of the present study was to determine the oxidative stress caused by hexavalent chromium (Cr[VI]), the chromium (Cr) uptake, and the Cr speciation in Convolvulus arvensis L. plants grown in hydroponics media containing either Cr(VI) or Cr(III). The results demonstrated that C. arvensis plants exposed to Cr(VI) concentrations ranging from 0 to 40 mg/L expressed higher ascorbate peroxidase specific activity in roots than in shoots. On the other hand, catalase activity monitored in plants exposed to 2 mg/L of Cr(VI) for 24 h increased in roots after a few hours of exposure. However, catalase activity in shoots revealed a decrement almost immediately after treatment was initiated. The results from x‐ray absorption spectroscopic studies indicated that the oxidation state of the supplied Cr(III) remained the same in plant tissues. The supplied Cr(VI), however, was reduced to the trivalent form in plant tissues. The results of inductively coupled plasma/optical emission spectroscopy demonstrated that after 5 d, the roots of plants exposed to 40 mg/L of Cr(III) or Cr(VI) accumulated approximately 25,000 and 3,500 mg/kg dry weight of Cr, respectively. Nevertheless, shoots concentrated 1,500 and 2,000 mg/kg dry weight of Cr from Cr(III) and Cr(VI), respectively, which indicated that Cr moved faster into C. arvensis plants when supplied as Cr(VI).
ForCES protocol design analysis for protection against DoS attacks

This work discusses a design analysis for the protection of the ForCES protocol against denial of service (DoS) attacks, which is a key requirement for the ForCES protocol. In order to meet this requirement, the control and data messages in the protocol needs to be separated. The separation scheme consists of: (1) separating the congestion aware, control and data transport connections such as TCP connections and (2) gives higher priority for control. The design issues along with the experimental results are discussed.
Odor localization requires visual feedback during free flight in Drosophila melanogaster

SUMMARY Adult fruit flies follow attractive odors associated with food and oviposition sites through widely varied visual landscapes. To examine the interaction between olfactory and visual cues during search behavior, we recorded three-dimensional flight trajectories as individuals explored controlled sensory landscapes. When presented with the source of an attractive odor invisibly embedded in the floor of a 1 m arena, flies spend most of their time hovering back and forth over the source when flying within a randomly textured visual background but fail to localize the source when searching within a uniform white surround. To test whether flies are associating unique features of the visual background with the strength of odor cues, we flew them within arenas containing evenly spaced vertical stripes. Flies readily localized the odor when flying within visual landscapes lacking azimuthal landmarks provided that vertical edges were present. Flies failed to localize odor when flying within a background pattern consisting of horizontal stripes. These results suggest that, whereas flies do not require spatially unique visual patterns to localize an odor source, they do require visual feedback generated by vertical edges. Quantitative shifts in several components of flight behavior accompanied successful odor localization. Flies decrease flight altitude, turn more often and approach visually textured walls of the arena near an odor source. A simple model based on the statistics of flight behavior supports the hypothesis that a subtle influence on these behaviors is sufficient to lead a fly to its food.
A comparison of backstepping and LQG control for stabilizing MVDC microgrids with Constant Power Loads

This paper investigates the use of adaptive backstepping as a decentralized control strategy for voltage stability of DC microgrids where the loads and generators are interfaced through power electronic converters. The stabilizing control of the bus voltages resides in the generation side interfacing converters. The loads are tightly regulated and exhibit Constant Power Load (CPL) behavior. This can cause stability problems due to the CPL negative impedance characteristic. In order to solve this problem we introduce backstepping as a nonlinear control technique, which is compared to a Linear Quadratic Gaussian (LQG) controller from literature.
The pilG gene product, required for Pseudomonas aeruginosa pilus production and twitching motility, is homologous to the enteric, single-domain response regulator CheY

The Pseudomonas aeruginosa pilG gene, encoding a protein which is involved in pilus production, was cloned by phenotypic complementation of a unique, pilus-defective mutant of strain PAO1. This mutant, designated FA2, although resistant to the pilus-specific phage D3112 was sensitive to the pilus-specific phages B3 and F116L. In spite of the unusual phage sensitivity pattern, FA2 lacked the ability to produce functional polar pili (pil) and was incapable of twitching motility (twt). Genetic analysis revealed that the FA2 pil mutation, designated pilG1, mapped near the met-28 marker located at 20 min and was distinct from the previously described pilT mutation. This map location was confirmed by localization of a 6.2-kb EcoRI fragment that complemented FA2 on the SpeI and DpnI physical map of the P. aeruginosa PAO1 chromosome. A 700-bp region encompassing the pilG gene was sequenced, and a 405-bp open reading frame, with characteristic P. aeruginosa codon bias, was identified. The molecular weight of the protein predicted from the amino acid sequence of PilG, which was determined to be 14,717, corresponded very closely to that of a polypeptide with the apparent molecular weight of 15,000 detected after expression of pilG from the T7 promoter in Escherichia coli. Moreover, the predicted amino acid sequence of PilG showed significant homology to that of the enteric CheY protein, a single-domain response regulator. A chromosomal pilG insertion mutant, constructed by allele replacement of the wild-type gene, was not capable of pilus production or twitching motility but displayed normal flagellum-mediated motility. These results, therefore, suggest that PilG may be an important part of the signal transduction system involved in the elaboration of P. aeruginosa pili.
A DSGE Model of Slovakia with Frictional Labor Market and Monetary Regime Switch

Abstract The aim of this paper is to examine the dynamical and structural characteristics of Slovakia using a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model augmented with search and matching mechanisms and other forms of frictions. I implement a switching mechanism to account for the monetary regime change in Slovakia in 2009. My focus lies in the investigation of labor market rigidities that affect the macroeconomic variables. I also examine the long term impact of the recession in 2009 on the Slovak economy. My findings are as follows. Firstly, based on parameter estimates, I identify significant labor market frictions present in the Slovak Republic. Secondly, my results capturing the historical evolution of key macroeconomic variables support the view that the recession in the examined small open economy was mainly caused by shocks originating in the foreign sector. Thirdly, the monetary authority can influence the labor market variables through its transmission channels relatively effectively; and lastly, I discovered that the recession decreased the Slovak economy’s flexibility. While the results of estimations on two sub-samples are quite similar for most of the structural parameters, an increase in price and wage stickiness is observable.
Sudden death due to coronary artery insufficiency as a result of massive cardiomegaly – a case report

Forensic pathologists encounter a wide range of deaths due to natural causes. Natural deaths can be sudden and unexpected, occurring in apparently healthy people. All such cases have to be investigated and a medico-legal autopsy should be conducted to ascertain the cause of death, and to rule out any criminal cause of death. Here, we report a case of a 46-year-old male who collapsed at his workplace and died. There was no history of significant natural disease. The case was investigated due to the suddenness of his death and absence of a history of significant medical illness. An autopsy revealed that the death was due to coronary artery insufficiency as a result of massive cardiomegaly, although there was absence of significant occlusion of the coronary arteries.
Innovative Approaches for Growth & Development of Small Businesses & Improve the Poverty Condition in Bangladesh

The research focuses on the assessment of small business & its impacts on socio-economic spheres; it focuses on effective ways for sustainable growth & development of small businesses in Bangladesh. Bangladesh is one of the poorest countries in the world with low GDP/capita and minimum purchasing power. There are 3 fundamental reasons which are accountable for permanent economic downturn and tremendous poverty in Bangladesh: (1) the poor people don’t have permanent regular jobs to earn enough money to support their families, (2) they don’t have sufficient investment capital to introduce their own businesses or other income generation activities to change their financial status, and (3) they don’t have proper entrepreneurial and managerial knowledge & experience to introduce &operate their own businesses perfectively. These factors confine them into vicious cycle of poverty from generation to generation and impose tremendous pressure on national economic, infrastructural and economic growth plan & potentiality. The aim of the paper is to analyze the effect of collective effort and co-operative investment policy to introduce micro joint venture and its impacts on socio-economic development. The study is to aggregate impoverished individuals’ micro saving, limited capability, little working skills & experiences to create them depositors, investors, successful entrepreneurs & skills workforce to accelerate economic growth and improve the poverty condition. The practical tasks of the research is to identify and apply the most effective ways for sustainable growth and development of small business & employment opportunities through proposed “Co-operative Society Micro-saving Bank” & “Innovative Small Business Model”.
Essays on the Workforce of the Developing World

Essays on the Workforce of the Developing World by Benjamin Thompson Chair: John Bound My dissertation focuses on the outcomes and consequences of public policy in a developing country, specifically, that of Brazil. In many ways, Brazil represents a microcosm of the emerging world: the nation has a large, fast-growing economy, geographic diversity, and a diverse population, both racially and socio-economically. I maintain that much can be learned about growing and developing economies from studying Brazil. Each chapter of my dissertation analyzes an important aspect of labor markets in Brazil. The first chapter entitled “Pensions, Retirement, and the Disutility of Labor: Bunching in Brazil,” focuses on how Brazilian elderly workers react to pension eligibility as part of a long-running and generous pension program that guarantees a high fraction of worker wages to be paid out upon claiming. Interestingly, while a worker is not required to retire to receive the pension, about 45% of urban workers do anyway. I explore the potential reasons for this phenomenon from an economic modeling standpoint and find that not only does the inability to borrow matter, but the excessive generosity of the pension does also. My results have implications for the formation of retirement incentives in the developing world and offer insight into how aspects of such policies may create predictable variation in employment patterns. The second chapter focuses on the effects of government spending in Brazil: namely, what happens to employment when local governments come into control of a larger amount of resources (in our case, federal transfers). Using a means of identification that relies on the assignment of federal funds to municipalities dependent on arbitrary population thresholds as criteria, we find that employment does increase by a larger factor than has been documented in